


Genesis

by That_Certain_Slant_Of_Light



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angel Sam Winchester, Angelic Grace, Nephilim, Parent!Michael, Raised Apart, Sam Has Powers, Young Dean Winchester, Young Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-30
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-02-27 14:21:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 51,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2696183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/That_Certain_Slant_Of_Light/pseuds/That_Certain_Slant_Of_Light
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mary thought she had escaped the hunting life, until november 2nd, 1983 when her youngest son goes missing. The remaining Winchesters go back to the life, while young Sam Winchester grows up without a mother, but not without a family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

When Michael first saw her soul, he was amazed. In her, he could see all the reasons why his father had created humans. Her soul was comprised fully of love and kindness, and though it had been privy to some the the earth’s darkest attributes, it was still the brightest soul he had ever seen. When he saw it, all Michael wanted to do was understand her; he wanted to truly discover this perfect example of his father’s creation. He watched her from afar as she lived each day with a love and compassion that exceeded that of even some of the Host. He watched for months as she lived with her husband and cared for her young son. Yet, he still could not understand her. She was still a mystery; so, without thinking of the consequences, he approached her and asked if she would consent to be his vessel. And to his joy, Mary Winchester said “yes”.

Once he had settled into Mary’s body, which was strange as he had never taken a female vessel before, Michael submerged himself in the back of her mind. He let Mary take the reigns and just observed his father’s creations from Mary’s eyes. Mary hardly even knew he was there, sometimes Mary would talk to him and he would reply, but mostly Michael stayed quiet. Michael had been planning on staying with Mary for only a few weeks to take a break from his bickering siblings, but as time passed Michael kept finding excuses for as to why he could stay. Months passed, and Michael realized that he had come to love Mary, not romantically, but as a symbol for all the good that his father had done. It was also around this time that Michael realized that Mary was pregnant with a second son, but this time the child was not John Winchester’s.

Looking deeply inside Mary, Michael desperately searched for how this could have happened. Eventually, he found the answer. A small bit of his grace had broken off his essence to merge with a small piece of Mary’s soul, and somehow it had started to grow into a half-human half-angel child. With further examination, Michael found that the genetic material came from both John and Mary, yet the child’s soul was completely Michael and Mary’s. Nothing like this had ever happened before. The nephilim of old were the products of angels who fell prey to sin and lusted after humans, yet Michael had not done so and he was still going to be a father. 

Though he knew he shouldn't, Michael remained with Mary throughout the pregnancy. Mary was ecstatic about the growth of her family, especially when she found out she was having another son. Though he thought it impossible, Mary’s soul grew brighter each day as she and John prepared for the newest addition to their family. While John was at work, Mary would sit in her big rocking chair with young Dean on her lap, letting him feel her stomach, the whole while explaining to him to what it meant to be a big brother. Michael knew he should leave, that he should not be fathering a nephilim, yet Michael stayed and watched as the small grace inside Mary grew a little larger each day. 

On May 2, 1983, Michael’s son was finally born and as he looked down upon his newborn sons face, for the first time in his existence Michael was scared. Looking at Samuel’s small face, Michael finally realized why his father cared so much for his brothers and the humans. There was nothing in existence to rival a parent’s love for their child. Gazing down at Sam while he waved his tiny chubby hands towards Mary’s face, Michael knew that he would do anything, even disobey his father, for the small child in his arms.

The first thing Michael did when Mary brought Sam home was bind Sam’s fledgling grace. As Sam grew, he would have to learn to do so on his own, but for now he needed Michael or he would be a neon sign calling out to all angels and demons. Even with his grace hidden as it was, Michael knew that Sam would still be a magnet for all things supernatural. Michael knew he needed to be in his son’s life to protect him and teach him what he needed to know, but he couldn’t exactly figure out how. However, he did know that he had to abandon Mary as his vessel. She deserved to have her own life with her husband and her sons, and Michael needed the mobility having his own body would provide. For something as important as raising his son, his heir, Michael couldn't take a back seat in his vessel; he needed to be present at all times.

The first few months were those that Michael was most worried about. Though Sam’s grace would grow as he did, his grace was most active in the first few months. It was still adjusting to Sam’s body and pulsed wildly. Though his bindings would make Sam seem like a completely human child to demons and the rest of the Supernatural world, any angel who came across Sam in the physical plane would be able to feel his grace signature until Sam’s grace finally settled. 

This was Michael’s greatest fear. If any angel found Sam, he would probably be killed, and even though Michael was the supposed leader of heaven since his father had left, he doubted even he would be able to save Sam. Not that he wouldn’t fight his brothers to save his son’s life. The moment Michael has seen Samuel’s smiling eyes, he knew that he would fight to the last to protect him. The thing was though, Nephilim were Heaven’s greatest taboo, even more so than Lucifer. Every angel remembered the destruction they had caused, and any angel who had fathered one was now in the pit. Michael knew that Sam was different from the nephilim of old; his conception was so unlike theirs, but he doubted that his siblings would listen long enough to see that. 

Especially with the way some of his brothers had been acting lately. Michael knew that Raphael, the only other archangel in heaven, was starting to become discontented with his leadership. Raphael thought that Michael was not working hard enough to bring their father back. Michael also knew that some of the other angels, like Zachariah and Uriel were starting to share Raphael’s view. Michael had been suspicious that Raphael was planning a coup of heaven to take power from him; that was why Michael had come down to earth to think in the first place. But now, Michael didn't care what Raphael did. As long as Raphael stayed away from Sam, Michael didn’t care what happened in Heaven. After all, he had a son to raise.

The first three months were hectic for everyone in the Winchester household. Mary, John, and Michael were busy taking care of the new baby, while Dean was adjusting to his new role as an older brother. Luckily, Dean took to older brotherhood like a duck takes to water. Michael knew Mary had been worried that Dean would feel pushed aside by the new baby, but Dean was Sam’s number one fan. He was always asking Mary if he could help take care of his Sammy. He would talk to Sammy about all the things he would teach him to do as his older brother, and Dean’s voice was always able to calm Sam down.

During these first few months Michael was desperately trying to figure out how to protect Sam as he grew up. Michael knew the easiest thing would be to take Sam and raise him on the move so that his brothers would never be able to get a location on them and so that Michael would be able to teach Sam about what it meant to be a Nephilim without having to hide it from the humans in his life, but Michael knew he couldn’t do that to the other Winchesters. Mary would be devastated at the loss of her son, and Michael knew that even at four years old, Dean would never stop looking for his brother. Michael could physically see the bond between the two brothers and he could not bring himself to tear them apart.

 


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Supernatural or its characters.

Sam was just approaching six months when Michael deemed it was the perfect time for him to go find a new vessel. Sam’s grace had settled enough that with the help of Michael’s binding he would be undetectable as nephilim to other angels unless they were in the same room. So after over a year of using Mary Winchester as a vessel, Michael set out to find another. Thankfully Michael was quickly able to find a temporary vessel in the form of Phil Kenton. Phil was an average man, nothing too remarkable about him except for the fact that he was able to host an archangel for short periods of time without any ill effects. Phil wouldn’t last long though, so Michael began searching for a more permanent solution.

The last time Michael had seen his brother Gabriel, he had been planning on leaving the host to pose as a trickster god. Gabe had come to Michael almost two thousand years ago, asking Michael not to look for him. Michael knew that Gabriel wanted to be left alone, and he would never tell any of his other brothers about Gabe’s location, but in Michael’s book this counted as a good reason to find him. Michael was fairly sure that the tricks and pagan powers Gabriel had gained from posing as Loki would allow Gabriel to actually create a vessel for Michael rather than having to find a new one. After all, Gabriel had done the exact same thing for himself.

Once settled in Phil, Michael put him safely asleep within his mind so he would have no memory of what was happening, and started his search for Gabriel. Michael wasn’t able to sense Gabriel’s grace, but he did catch the scent of pagan magic in southwestern Pennsylvania, and, knowing that Gabriel was posing as Loki, Michael followed his hunch and flew to a field in rural PA. Sitting down on the damp grass, Michael closed his eyes and intensified his search. 

Beneath his eyelids, he could almost see the grace around him. In his mind’s eye, he saw trails of glowing metallic light, left by angelic activity from years past. All around him were faint gold and bronze ropes of light. Most of the trails were old and faded from when angels had frequently walked the earth, but he could see the thousands of bronze strands connecting him to the angels in heaven and one strong golden strand connecting him to Raphael. Out of all the grace trails he could see one small, muted, silver strand, only seen because of the similarity in their graces, leading to his son. Looking deeper at the strands and also opening his mind to other magics, Michael finally found his wayward brother. Buried under and twisted within centuries of green and purple pagan magic, Michael could see the faint glow of a muted golden grace in Pittsburgh.

In less than a second, Michael was gone from the field and reappearing behind his brother in a private showing room of the Andy Warhol museum. Wearing a small, blonde-haired, brown-eyed vessel, Gabriel was eagerly doing something involving orange paint and baking powder to the museums walls. Then, seemingly sensing Michael’s grace behind him, he stiffened and slowly turned around.

“Michael,” he said flatly, clearly not happy to see his older brother. Michael knew that Gabe was still hurt from the fight between him and Lucifer but Michael hoped that Gabriel would still agree to help him. 

“Gabriel…” Michael started,

“Why are you here, Michael? I told you I didn’t want to be found.”

“I know, brother, and I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t important.”

“I’ve told you before, Mikey, I don’t want to get involved with family squabbles anymore! I’ve made a new life for myself as Loki. And guess what? I’m happy with it! So I would really appreciate it if you could not come back into my life and mess that up.”

“I swear to you Gabriel, I will not bother you again after I ask this one favor. In fact, you don’t even have to know why I need a favor.” Gabriel gave Michael a long look, then finally sighed.

“Fine. I’ll help you with one thing but after that you leave. Witness protection doesn’t really work unless no one knows where I am. Come on, let’s go back to my place to talk.” With a snap Gabriel was gone and Michael followed his grace signature to a nice downtown apartment. 

Michael found himself in a spacious living room; unsurprisingly, it was opulent with just a touch of gaudy, exactly Gabriel’s style. Just as he was starting to wonder where Gabriel had gone off to, Gabe wandered in from what Michael assumed was the kitchen, munching on a chocolate bar.

“So big bro, what brings you to my humble abode?” Michael tried very hard not to roll his eyes at Gabriel, a habit he had picked up from Mary in the past few months.

“I need a new vessel, Gabriel. One like you have, made to block my grace.” If the situation hadn’t been so important, Michael might have laughed at the comical widening of Gabriel’s eyes. Michael sighed, seeing the unasked question in Gabriel’s eyes.

“I need to, as you call it, go into ‘witness protection.’ Something’s happened and I can’t have our brothers finding me.”

“You’re leaving? Mikey, this is different then when I left. Since Dad flew the coop, you’re the big kahuna up in Disney land. They’ll look for you, and a lot harder then they ever looked for me.”

“I know, Gabriel, but trust me when I say I need to leave. This isn’t just about me anymore.” Gabriel gave Michael a long look, and Michael could basically see the gears grinding in that straw-covered head of his. After what seemed like an eternity to Michael, Gabriel gave a large sigh.

“Okay, I’ll help you ‘cause you're my big brother. But Michael, whatever you're involved with, after I make you this new vessel, I don’t want any part of it. I’m not Gabriel, archangel of judgement anymore; I’m happy as Loki, the pagan trickster god.”

“Thank you Gabriel. You really have no idea how important this is.”

“No I don’t and I don't really want to. The less I know about whatever’s enough to make the good son leave his post, the happier I’ll be.” Shaking his head at Michael, Gabriel abruptly changed the topic, “Okay, so I’ll need some your grace. I’m going to take it’s essence, and then use some of my pagan mojo to give it a physical form. You’ll end up looking like your true form humanized, and your grace will be hidden cause it will literally be your vessel, rather than hidden in one, sound good?”

“It sounds perfect, Gabriel. How long will it take? I can’t be away for long.” 

“Uh, give me about a week? And you should probably stay close by incase I need you for something. I’ve never done this with someone else’s grace.” Michael nodded.

“I’ll stay in the city then.” 

“Then I’ll just need a sliver of your grace, and you can go out and explore the wonders of western Pennsylvania.” Conjuring a small glass vial, Michael slowly took a sliver of his grace and placed it in the vial, capping it with a matching stopper.

“Is this enough?”

“Perfect, bro! We’ll have you walking around in a brand new you in no time!” 

“Good. Gabriel, where is the closest library?”

“Really, Mikey?” Gabriel, it seemed, had no problem with eye rolling. “You're in a city with over four hundred bridges and you want to go the library? They have sandwiches here where they put the fries in the sandwich!”

“I have some things to research, Gabriel.”

“Fine. There are a bunch of them all over the city. There’s the carnegie library plus there’s about a dozen university ones. For some reason people think Pittsburgh’s a great place for higher education.”

“Thank you, Gabriel.” And, with a thought, Michael was gone. 

Michael spent the next few days researching human infants. Though he had seen how Mary cared for young Sam, he did not really understand most of it. Human children seemed to need quite bit of care, and Michael wanted to make sure that his son had everything he needed. Michael did not quite know how Sam’s angel half would affect his development, but he needed to know the norm for human babes so he could make sure Sam received the care he needed. 

He also spent quite a bit of time reviewing all the care that his younger brothers had needed when they were fledglings. Michael assumed that Sam’s growth and development would be somewhere between the two. Since fledgling angels took almost a hundred earth years to mature, Michael was worried that Sam’s development would be behind that of other human children, but from what Michael had read about human babies, Samuel seemed to be the opposite. 

Though it was not too obvious at almost six months, Samuel’s intelligence and motor skills seemed to be accelerated, and Michael had a feeling that the developmental rate would continue to grow in the next few months. By the time Gabriel contacted Michael on the fifth day to tell him that his new vessel would be ready the next day, Michael had read almost every parenting and child development book, magazine, and article to be found in Pittsburgh. Late that night, Michael was resting in a church downtown when he suddenly felt a distressed tug on his grace. Sam was in trouble, and his son’s muted grace was calling to his. Within a heartbeat, Michael left Pittsburgh and reappeared in Sam’s nursery in Lawrence. 

Michael stared at Sam’s crib in shock for a few seconds before he sprang into action, attacking the figure standing over Sammy dripping blood into his mouth. Michael slashed at the demon, because now that he was looking there was no doubt it was a demon and a powerful one at that, before pinning him to a wall.

“What do you want with him,” Michael said harshly. The demon just laughed in his face.

“Looks like little Sammy has a guardian angel looking out for him. I hate to tell you this, feathers, but little Sammy there belongs to me. Has since the day his mother traded him for Johnny boy.” Michael snarled at the demon, who in return flashed a smirk and yellow eyes, and promptly smoked out before Michael could smite him. That of course was the moment when Mary walked in. She gasped as Michael turned towards her. Glancing towards their son, Michael knew that life had just become a lot more complicated than it already was. 

Sam would not just be hunted by the angels if his existence ever became known, but now it looked as if he would be hunted by one of hell’s most powerful demons. Not to mention that hell wasn’t even aware of the fact that Sam was nephilim; if hell ever found that out they would want him that much more. After all because of the yellow eyed demon’s blood, Sam was now the first ever child of heaven, hell, and earth. Michael knew that he couldn't protect Sam from the sidelines anymore, and that both his presence and Sam’s would put the remaining Winchesters in danger. With a sad smile to Mary, he mouthed the words, “I’m sorry.” Then with a wave of his hand he erased all the memories Mary had of him, gathered Sam in his arms, and was gone.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated. I want to know what you guys think!


	3. Three

Michael watched his son play with Bobby Singer’s newest dog from Bobby’s front porch. Though the dog was much bigger than little Sammy, the toddler seemed to be having a blast. Sometimes Michael was scared about the lack of interaction Samuel had with other children, but he knew that if he had kept Sammy with the Winchesters then they would have been in constant danger, and it was much easier for Michael to protect only his son rather than a large family of four. Michael smiled as Sam picked up a stick from the dust and threw it for the dog to chase.

“Fetch!” he laughed with a dimpled smile. Michael knew that Sam’s childhood wasn’t what it would have been with Mary, but at least he was safe and happy. Besides, Michael reasoned to himself, as soon as Samuel was old enough he would register him in school so Sam could meet other children. Michael wanted Sam’s childhood to be as close to a normal human childhood as possible. 

“Daddy! Daddy!” Sam came up to Michael smiling and yelling, “Come play with me!” Smiling at his son, Michael went to play with Sammy and the dog before Bobby came out of the house with tidings of dinner.

The first few years Michael had with Sam had been challenging. After fleeing Sam’s nursery with his son, Michael had appeared in Gabriel’s apartment in Pittsburgh. Gabriel had been surprised, to say the least, to see Michael with a seemingly human child. Michael had told Gabriel nothing about who Samuel was, knowing that Gabe wanted to stay out of whatever mess his older brother had found himself in. Michael suspected that Gabe had his suspicions on Sam’s identity, but if Gabe wanted to be involved he would tell him. Michael stayed only long enough to get his new vessel before taking Sam and leaving Gabriel behind. Michael hadn’t seen his runaway younger brother since that night.

The first few months had been the hardest for Michael, even though he had read all he could on raising a child, it was much different in actuality. Michael had led the forces of heaven for a millennia, but he met his match with the half human child. Even though he did not sleep, Michael had still found himself tired after watching Sammy all day. Not to mention that due to his angelic heritage, Samuel needed far less sleep and had much more energy than a normal human child. Michael was glad that Sam’s fussy stage only lasted a few months. 

Though Samuel’s body aged at a normal human rate, his mental capabilities grew exponentially in his first year, before finally settling into a constant, though accelerated, growth rate. At three and a half, Samuel had the mental capabilities of a five or six year old, and an exceptional one at that. He spoke both English and Enochian fluently. Sammy seemed to have a love of language. Sammy had a way with both languages, and kept wanting to know more, so Michael had started to teach him others. What had started as an exercise to keep the constantly energetic toddler entertained had become a great father-son bonding activity. They were currently working on Latin and French and soon Sammy would be good enough at those that Michael would have to start teaching him more.

Michael knew that he would have to teach his son all he could so that Sam would be able to protect himself. Michael had no illusions about how dangerous their lives were. There was demon after Sam, and Michael’s brothers were looking for him. The rest of the host may not have known about Samuel, but they did know that something had made Michael leave them high and dry. Michael knew that Raphael had effectively taken over Heaven by now, but that didn’t mean no one would look for him. 

Raphael would be looking for him to make sure Michael wouldn’t be able to contest him in the future, and those unhappy with Raphael’s reign would want him to go back to leading the host. Michael knew that eventually the host would find him; his grace was too strong to stay hidden forever, and both factions of the host needed him too much to let him go, but Michael was going to make sure that Sam would know enough to take care of himself when his brothers finally found him. Michael was not going to let Heaven or Hell hurt his only son. 

That was how Michael had ended up at Bobby Singer’s in the first place. In order to prepare his son for the future, Michael needed as much information as he could get both about what the host had planned, and why a demon wanted with his son. Michael was doing his best on his own to figure out the host’s plans, but it was more challenging than he had anticipated. He couldn’t tune into angel radio without sending out a grace signature to every member of the host saying exactly where he was, making figuring out Heaven’s plans extremely difficult. The demon’s plans on the other hand, he at least had help with. Michael figured that the best place to get information on demons was to talk to the humans who hunted them.

Consequently, Michael had set up a new identity, complete with passports and birth certificates, as Michael Dangé, a French hunter who moved to the US with his young son after his wife was killed. The French background explained for the Enochian accent that had for some reason carried over to his vessel. Furthermore, Michael Dangé was looking for a yellow eyed demon who he believed had some role in his wife’s death. With a believable story to explain his presence, Michael, former archangel of the Lord, joined the ranks of the American hunters. Being a hunter was not as easy as he had thought it would be. Even though he could kill most monsters with his grace, he had never found a reason to learn about supernatural lore on earth. As an angel all he had cared about were angels and demons, while now he was expected to know about a variety of creatures, some of which he had never even heard of. Michael also couldn’t simply smite the supernatural since smiting, as well as angel radio, sent out a grace signature. Luckily though Michael learned fast, and he was soon known as one of the best hunters in the business. It was at about that time that Michael first heard of Bobby Singer.

Michael was at the Roadhouse, a hunter’s bar he had discovered soon after Sam had turned a year old, and Ellen, the women who ran the bar, had often watched Sam when he had a hunt too long to keep Sammy with him. When he had told Ellen about his search for the yellow-eyed demon, Ellen had told him about Bobby Singer. Michael had gone to visit the hunting world’s resident demon expert and a strange friendship had formed. Bobby had immediately taken to the puppy-eyed toddler, and after the usual tests he seemed to welcome Michael and his son with open arms. Over the next few years Michael kept coming back to Bobby’s whenever he heard a lead on the yellow-eyed demon. Not to mention, Sammy was always happy to go see Uncle Bobby. 

Michael may not have been completely content with how Samuel had to constantly move around, but at least the boy was protected. Sammy liked visiting Michael’s hunting associates, and every hunter knew how protective Michael Dangé was of his young son. Ellen basically doted on Sammy, and Michael was happy to know that Sammy was getting a mother’s care from someone. Hunting may not have been Michael’s first choice for Samuel’s childhood, but it was the best option they had. Not to mention that when Sammy was older hunting would give him the battle experience he needed to protect himself. After all, when Samuel’s grace given powers developed, hunting would be a breeze for him.

Even though they had carved a place for themselves in the hunter community, Michael was still careful to make sure that he and Sam seemed completely normal. Michael knew that many hunters viewed the world in black and white, that anything nonhuman was evil, and he couldn’t have the human hunters after him and Sam as well as the angels and demons. Michael made sure that Samuel knew he was only to speak Enochian when no one else was around. Enochian was Daddy’s language and English was for everyone else. Though Samuel did not understand why he couldn’t speak Enochian with Uncle Bobby and Aunt Ellen, he listened to the father he idolized. 

That night while Michael was putting Sammy to bed, the young boy kept fidgeting.  

“Samuel,” Michael said in Enochian, “Its bedtime. You need to calm down.” Sammy looked up at his dad with big, watery eyes.

“But Daddy, my back itches and it won’t stop!” Michael looked at his son.

“Where does it itch, Sammy?”

“On my back. Fix it, Daddy. I don’t like it.” 

“I know son, hold still while I take a look, okay?” Sam bit his lip and nodded his small head while Michael removed his pajama shirt. Turning Sam onto his stomach so Michael could look at his back, Michael saw two small bumps right between his shoulder blades. Michael lightly touched them with a finger.

“Sammy? Is this where it itches?” Sammy nodded his head,

“Uh huh”

“Sammy,” Michael started, “I think you're starting to grow wings.”

“Like you?” Micael looked down at his son with a smile on his face. Though Michael’s wings only existed on the physical plane if he wanted them to, Sam had always been able to see them, probably due to the relationship between their graces.

“Yeah like me, kiddo.”

“Good,” Sammy smiled, “I wanna be just like you, Daddy.” Michael smiled at that. He wasn’t sure if he was the best role model for his son, but he loved him with all his heart. 

Once Sammy was finally asleep, Michael retreated to an armchair in the study to think. Bobby had left on a supply run shortly after dinner, so Michael had some time to himself. Michael hadn't known whether Sammy was going to have wings, but now that he thought about it, it made sense. After all, with the unusual way he had been conceived, Sam was the strongest nephilim in history, and it made sense that he would have more in common with full angels than the nephilim in the bible. After all the biblical nephilim had been the children of two humans one of which was a vessel. They had completely human souls with bit of grace mixed into their DNA. Sam on the other hand, had completely human DNA from Mary and John, while his soul was actually half grace. 

Unlike Michael’s wings though, Sam’s seemed to be on the physical plane. It was probably due to the soul part of his grace. Human souls tended to like having a physical body, so his wings were emerging on the physical plane to appease his human side. Michael knew that while Samuel’s wings grew, he would have to leave Bobby’s and keep away from Hunters until they were fully grown. Once they were grown, Michael was sure he could teach Sam to keep them off the physical plane even if that was not their natural state. Smiling to himself Michael went to help Bobby with the groceries as he heard the old truck rattling into the salvage yard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments make my day! :)


	4. Four

If there was one word to describe Mary Winchester it was tough. She had grown up in a family of hunters, and even if she didn’t like it, she was good at it. Then when she wanted out, she got out. She told her remaining family no, and left with John to go live a normal life. And for the next ten years she did. She got married and loved. For the first time in her life she didn’t have to worry if her loved ones would come home from work. Mary had left the life, but she didn’t forget. She made sure to ward her house; but other than a few bottles of holy water gathering dust in her pantry, Mary got to have her apple pie life. She had two beautiful sons and a loving husband. Until everything changed the night of November 2, 1983.

After that night she told John everything, as it was obvious something supernatural had taken her son. She told him about how she had seen a demon and another creature, most likely also a demon, fighting over her son’s crib. She had arrived just in time to see one demon’s eyes flash yellow before smoking out. Strangely enough, the remaining demon had looked at her almost apologetically before leaving with her youngest. From that moment on Mary knew that she couldn’t go back to some normal white picket fence life. Her son had most likely been taken because of the deal she had made for John’s life ten years ago, and she needed to get him back. John hadn’t been happy when she told him about the deal, but they got over it. They had more important things to do than fight. 

John agreed with Mary that they had to start hunting. They had to do something or they knew they would go crazy with grief for Sam. Mary’s only consolation was that the demon had taken Sammy, not killed him. That had to mean that for some reason the demon wanted him alive. That night Mary vowed that she would find those demons and get her son back. She didn’t have any clues to the demon that actually took her son other than that he was powerful enough to get past her wards and disappear at will. The other demon, though, she had a bit more to go on; it had had yellow eyes. 

The first thing she had done was contact the remaining Campbells. Even though her dad, the head of the family, had passed, there were still other branches of the family hunting. The Campbells usually tried to keep themselves separated from the rest of the hunters. After all, they were one of the oldest hunting families and they knew best. The problem was that since Mary had been out of the game for ten years, she was sure the one hunters place she knew of that wasn’t a Campbell compound was gone by now, and she didn’t know how the remaining Campbells would feel about her return to the life. She just hoped that the Campbells would let her beck in. About a month after Sam’s kidnapping Mary was finally able to find a living Campbell; one of her second cousins, Terry, was apparently still kicking. Which was surprising seeing that in the past few years demons had started to specifically target the Campbells. Mary couldn’t help but wonder if maybe that had anything to do with her deal. 

Once she finally reached the last remaining Campbell compound she thankfully received their condolences and the guarantee that her family would do everything they could to help her find Sammy. John was a quick learner, and the compound had great resources for Mary to train him to be a hunter. That being said, John didn’t particularly like the rest of her family. Though they never said anything, the rest of the Campbells looked down on John for not being born into the life. And John, well he didn’t really like the idea of living with his four year old son and wife in what resembled an army base; it reminded him too much of Vietnam. In that area, Mary agreed with him. Because of Sammy, Mary knew that Dean would end up being raised in the life if only because Dean needed to find his Sammy too. Still, Mary would not raise him in the paramilitary lifestyle Terry seemed to be running at the compound. Monster hunting or not, Mary still wanted Dean to have some time to be a child.

Because of this, after about a year at the compound, during which John became a pretty good hunter thanks to Mary’s tutelage, the three Winchesters left the Campbell compound deciding to move with the hunts rather than working from a home base. Besides, the trail for the yellow-eyed demon had gone cold and there was nothing else the Winchesters could do at the compound that they could’t also do on the road. Hunting on the road did have its problems though. John was all for leaving a five year old Dean in the motel rooms while they hunted, but Mary shot down that idea faster than the speed of light. Mary sat John down and established her ground rules for hunting. Dean had already lost his brother, he wasn't going to lose his parents too.

In the research phase of the hunt, Mary made sure that one of them was always with Dean. It may have taken longer to question the witnesses but Mary didn't care. Then for the actual hunt they would hire a sitter or daycare for when Dean wasn’t at school. They always made sure that they tested whoever they left Dean with and that they had the Campbells number if anything were to happen. It may not have been perfect but at least Dean got to see and spend time with both his parents regularly. Mary didn't want him to have a childhood like hers where one parent was gone for weeks at a time on a hunt. 

After they left the Campbells, Dean finally started talking again. Losing Sammy had hit him hard and he was too young to really understand what had happened. All he knew was that his little brother was gone and his parents were sad. The first few days after Sam had been taken Dean had constantly asked where he was, but eventually he just stopped talking. Thankfully leaving the paramilitary compound got him to open up again. At first, he would only talk to Mary, quietly telling her how he missed his Sammy late at night. Eventually he started talking to John again and later others, but Mary could tell that Sammy’s disappearance was still affecting him. The carefree little boy had been replaced by a confused one who was dead set on finding his brother.

John saw Dean’s commitment to finding Sammy as a good thing and wanted to start training him to hunt. Mary wouldn’t let him. Dean was still just a child, and even though he missed his brother, she wouldn’t get him involved with the hunt. She stuck to her father’s rules of raising a hunter. Lore training wouldn’t begin until he was eight and physical training at ten. And, most importantly, under no circumstances would Dean be allowed on an actual hunt until he was sixteen. Those were her rules and she wouldn’t change them. Dean had thrown a tantrum when she told him he couldn’t go out with mommy and daddy to look for Sammy, and John didn’t really like it either, but Mary wasn’t afraid to make John sleep on the couch if she had too. 

Life went on for the Winchester family, but they still constantly felt the loss of their youngest. John became revenge-driven and chased that revenge with singular focus. He still made time for Dean and Mary, but he was a much harder man than he had been. There were less hugs and more late night research sessions. John threw himself completely into hunting; he couldn’t let some demon get away with stealing his son just because he wasn’t prepared. Mary, too, was driven, but she focused more on finding Sam and getting him back than revenge. 

Even with her drive to find Sammy, she made sure that she was there to be a mother to Dean when he needed it. Sometimes Mary thought that Sammy’s loss affected Dean the worst out of the three of them. From the moment Sammy had been born he had been Dean’s whole world, and Mary knew they had had a special bond. She could even remember a few times when Dean had been the only one who had been able to calm Sammy down. Dean had just had a way with his little brother, but suddenly the boy had had that little brother ripped away from him.

There were days that the only thing keeping Mary from breaking down was the idea of getting her boys back together. She kept a picture of Sammy in her wallet, and could often be found just looking at it late at night, making sure she would never forget a detail of her son’s face. Mary suspected that Dean often snuck into her purse so that he could see the picture too. Mary had hoped that Dean would start to heal after they left the compound, especially since he had started talking again, but she knew it was far-fetched. For some reason she knew that Dean would always be calling out to his Sammy. Mary was proved right when she picked up Dean from first grade about a year after they had left the compound to find him holding back tears. As soon as they got back to the motel room, Mary took him into her arms.

“Dean, sweetie, what’s wrong?” Dean took a big breath and started sobbing in earnest.

“I-in school today, Miss Lachent told us to draw pictures of our f-family in our house for Christmas and I wanted to draw Sammy but Leo said I couldn’t cause he doesn’t live with us and that means he isn’t family any more!” Dean took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes as he continued. “So then I didn’t draw Sammy in cause Leo said not to, but now I feel like I’m leaving Sammy out, but I didn’t want to! I want Sammy to be in the picture cause he’s gone and he’s been gone a really long time, but I still want him, Mommy!” Dean gave a hiccup and looked at Mary with watery eyes. “Mommy, when’s Sammy coming back? I miss him and I need to tell him that I didn’t want to leave him out of the picture.” Mary almost cried herself looking at her son’s tear stroked face and listening to his sobbed confession.

“I don’t know when Sammy’s coming back, baby, but know matter what Leo says Sammy will always be a part of our family and you can always draw him in your pictures. Now if you want we can add him in right now, Okay?” Dean nodded at Mary and took a crumpled drawing out of his little pocket. Mary got the crayons out of his backpack and together they added Sammy to the drawing before taping it to the impala’s dash. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me what you think!


	5. Five

Michael laughed as Sammy came into the cabin for dinner covered in mud. 

“Okay, buddy. Bath now.” Sammy had the sense to look sheepish as Michael followed him into the simple bathroom to start running a bath.

It had been about seven months since Michael had left Bobby’s, and Michael and Sam had holed up in a hunter friend of Bobby’s cabin for the summer. Rufus was a harsh hunter, yet when he told Michael he could use the cabin, Rufus kept smiling at Sammy’s enthusiasm for the small place. Sam was ecstatic that the cabin had so much room to play. Sam had always loved playing outside in nature which Michael suspected had something to do with his angel heritage. For some reason, it was just easier to feel his father’s presence in places of nature. God may have left, but the angels could still feel his influence on the earth, and Michael suspected that Sam was picking up on that too. 

They had come to the cottage once Sammy’s wings started to grow larger. Michael had known that soon he wouldn’t be able to hide the growing wings under baggy shirts, so he moved them to an isolated area where Sam could let them grow unimpaired. Sammy for one loved running around letting the still growing wings and feathers flutter in the wind. Michael liked living in the woods for the summer, but he knew that in a few months they would have to move to somewhere with a bit warmer of a climate. 

Sammy’s wings were still pretty small and the feathers had only just grown in. Michael knew that wings grew faster towards the end of their development though, so he wasn’t worried. One thing that did have him a tad worried was that Sam seemed to be growing a second set of wings. He couldn’t be sure yet, but there may have been very small bumps right below Sam’s wings. It was bit strange because no nephilim had ever grown more than one set, but Michael knew there was nothing he could do now, so he decided to just let events play out as they would. 

One game that Sammy loved to play with Michael was guessing what his wings would end up looking like. While they were growing, Sam’s wings would stay a very light beige color, almost matching the color of his skin. Sam wouldn’t know what they would look like until they were almost done growing. Michael hoped they would be darker, seeing that he already had enough problem’s getting mud out of the beige wings. Angel wings were water resistant, almost waxy so when Sam took a bath, the water would roll off his wings in little droplets. Even with this feature though, Sam seemed to have a talent at getting mud almost ground into his feathers. Michael had already used quite a bit of bath water so far this summer.

Once Sammy was finally clean, the small family sat down to dinner. Thankfully Michael had made a salad that night so at least the food hadn’t gotten cold. After dinner Michael worked on Sam with his powers. Sammy’s powers had started to develop just after they had moved to the cabin. So far they were pretty weak, but they were growing stronger everyday, so Michael always set aside some time to work on Sammy’s control. Michael knew that Sam had to have perfect control before he could start kindergarden in a year with other children.

So far, Sam had shown instances of telekinesis, and he was stronger and faster than a normal human four year old child should be. Michael couldn’t really tell which of Sam’s powers were from his angelic heritage and which were from the demon blood he had been fed. The demon blood was definitely causing an increase in Sam’s power, but thankfully Michael could see that Sam’s grace was countering any negative side effects the blood could have had. Sam’s wings were obviously from his angel side, but Michael suspected that the telekinesis was from the demon blood. Though angels could move things with their mind, it was more common with demons. Michael had also learned that Sam healed faster than normal humans. A few weeks after they had arrived at the cabin, Sammy had cut himself on a sharp rock. The cut hadn’t been deep enough to need stitches so Michael had cleaned and bandaged it. When Michael had taken the bandage off two days later to check on it, the cut had almost completely healed. 

Michael was also starting to think that Sam was developing empathy. He couldn’t be sure since they weren’t near any other people and as an archangel Sam’s empathy would’t work on him. But Michael noticed that Sam seemed to be able to tell when an animal was in pain. The small animals in the woods around the cabin were always drawn to Sam as he played in the clearing around the cabin. Michael guessed that on some primal level they picked up on the innocence and purity radiating from Sam. One day, Sam had come to him with a baby fox he had found curled up under a bush behind the cabin. Outwardly the kit had seemed fine, but Sammy had insisted that the fox was hurting. Humoring his son, Michael has used his powers to check the fox, only to find that he was suffering from a pretty serious illness. After much pleading on Sammy’s part, Michael had healed the poor thing and sent it on its way. Michael had made Sammy release it back into the forest maintaing that they couldn’t keep pets when they moved so much, but Michael was pretty sure that the kit kept visiting Sammy when he was playing, and Michael had seen Sammy sneaking some food out to the small creature. After that incident, Michael was pretty sure that Sammy was able to pick up on the animals needs at some level, though Michael wouldn’t know if it would develop into empathy until they were back around people. Once Michael noticed Sammy trying to hide his yawns, Michael brought an end to the nights practice.

“Okay, time for bed, kiddo.”

“But I’m not tired, Daddy. I wanna keep playing.” Michael smiled as Sammy tried to hide another yawn.

“Sure, buddy. Why don’t we get into our pjs anyway, Okay?” Sammy got that little crease on his forehead that meant he was thinking hard. Then he gave Michael a little nod.

“That’s what I thought. Come on up you go.” Michael swept Sammy up into his arms and carried him to his bedroom. Michael got his son into his pjs and supervised as he brushed his teeth. After the normal bedtime routine, Michael tucked his son under the covers and smiled. Just like he had suspected, Sammy fell asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow. 

The next morning went much the same as all the previous mornings in the cabin had. Sammy woke up before the sun was up seeing that he didn’t sleep nearly as much as any normal four year old. Thankfully Michael didn’t sleep, though the longer he spent playing human the more he found he liked to rest his vessel and grace at night, so he was awake and ready to deal with a hyper toddler who couldn’t play outside until the sun came up. First Michael gave Sammy his breakfast, the child wanted Lucky Charms, but Michael was able to convince him to go with the slightly healthier cheerios. 

After breakfast Michael was able to distract Sam with books. Four years old but the little boy was already a regular scholar. Michael had managed to find some French primers and activity books for the kid and even though Sam was pretty much fluent by this time, he still liked working through the activities. Michael also took the time before dawn to work with Sammy on his Latin and Sumerian. The Latin was coming on fairly well, while Michael had just started on the Sumerian about two months prior. The problem with teaching Sammy ancient languages was that it was nearly impossible to find beginner texts or any text that would hold the attention of a four year old for that matter. 

When the sun finally came up, Michael let Sammy run out to play. After all, summer only lasted for so long, and Sam could amuse himself playing outside for hours. Michael kept an eye on Sam from the wide window in the cabin’s main room while researching a hunt for Bill Harvelle. Since Michael had stopped hunting while Sam was “sick” or at least that was what he had told the hunting community, he had done a lot of research for other hunters. Michael had knack for finding obscure patterns and pulling hunts out of nowhere. Once Sammy figured out how to hide his wings, he would start hunting again but until then he manned the books. Michael looked up from his current tome to find Sam running and weaving between the trees. Michael smiled and went back to his work. He wasn’t worried about Sammy seeing as the boy knew to stay within his line of sight.

A few hours later, Michael was interrupted by Sam calling for him from outside.

“Daddy! Daddy! Come quickly!” Thinking Sammy was in trouble, Michael flew to his sons side in a second.

“Sammy, are you okay?” Michael asked frantically. Sam managed to give Michael a look that said both “Don’t be silly” and “What are you talking about” in one.

“No Daddy, he’s hurt.” As he talked Sam gestured to a small white rabbit laying next to him. “Look, daddy. He’s bleeding.” Sammy quickly showed Michael the gash in the rabbits flank before replacing his palm over the wound. He was obviously trying to staunch the flow of blood. “Fix him Daddy. He hurts so much.” Michael took one look at his son’s face and knew he wouldn’t be able to say no to those puppy dog eyes. Michael bent down to heal the poor thing, but it turned out he didn’t need to. When Sammy removed is hand, the wound had completely healed.

“Sammy, what did you do?” Sammy blinked up at him slowly and yawned.

“He was hurting so much and I didn’t want him to hurt. So I just concentrated really hard on him not hurting, and now he isn’t!” Sammy finished his speech with a sleepy smile. “And now I’m real tired Daddy.” With that declaration Sammy leaned himself against his father’s leg and fell asleep. Michael picked up his son and brought him into the cabin to tuck him into his bed. He left the little rabbit to find its way back to its family. 

As he watched his son sleep in the middle of the day, Michael mused on his son’s latest power. It looked like Sam could heal now, but it seemed to take a lot out of him. A fact that was confirmed when Sammy didn’t wake up until a full day after he healed his little friend.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Whats up? Its That_Certain_Slant_Of_Light’s awesome sister who will be writing this author note. I’m the one who does the editing, so blame me for all grammar mistakes. (She’s a pretty amazing author, so there is not much I have to fix). So… anyways please please please comment. It would mean a lot. Tell her if this story is awesome, okay, or sucks. Helpful criticism is always welcome. Love you kidums. :)   
> ~ The Best Sister Ever, Leo.


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning:  
> There's some mild swearing in this chapter. Just thought I'd let you guys know.

Dean turned eight about a year after the incident with the picture. For his eighth birthday, both Mary and John took a break from their latest hunt and took Dean to a nearby amusement park. Luckily, they were on a hunt in Florida at the time so the park was open year round. Dean had a blast going on the roller coasters, and his smile when John praised him on his aim after winning a stuffed bear at the shooting booth was wider than the Pacific Ocean. Even though Dean maintained that eight was too old for stuffed animals, Mary knew that Dean kept the bear and named it Sammy. In the following years, Dean would take it out whenever life got to be too stressful.

John and Mary finished up their hunt the next day, and then, two days after his eight birthday, they sat Dean down for the talk. Dean took the news that monsters were real surprisingly well. He already knew that his parents' jobs weren’t normal. After all, he had to lie about it in school and none of the other kids moved around as much as he did. Surprisingly, Dean didn’t mind moving around; he liked to see new places. Dean also knew that Sammy’s disappearance hadn’t been normal. Finding out that a demon was behind it just clarified the questions and suspicions he had, while making Dean’s drive to rescue him ten times stronger. For the next month or so, Dean tried to learn all he could about the supernatural. Mary tried to pace his learning, not wanting him to become completely entrenched in the hunter lifestyle so young, but John was proud that his son seemed to be made for the life.

After a month, the Winchesters decided to swing by the Campbell compound for a week or so. Mary wanted to get some children’s hunter books for Dean, yes her family did have those, and Terry had called with a possible lead on the yellow-eyed demon. Since they had left the compound almost two years ago, the Winchesters tried to swing by every few months, either just to check in and restock or whenever there was a possible lead on Sammy. None of the leads had ever led anywhere, but Mary could never stop hoping that the next one would lead her to her baby. 

Once arriving at the compound, Mary sent Dean off to pay with Terry’s kids, Gwen and Christian, then joined the rest of the adults in the library to see what the news was. Terry got right down into business, skipping over pleasantries and small talk.

“Mary. John,” He nodded at each in greeting as he said their name, “I called y’all cause Mark here,” Terry nodded to his brother by his side, “found a demon up in Oklahoma that said some interesting things before he was exorcised. He was weak for a demon and started talking pretty soon, thinking we’d let him go if he gave us enough information.” Both Mary and John gave a small chuckle at that. They both knew no self respecting hunter would ever let a demon go. Marc too gave a small snort and continued where his brother had left off,

“Well, anyways old black eyes said he was in Guthrie checking up on some of his boss’ investments. Well that made me mighty curious you see, cause any investments that a top dog demon might have can't exactly be good for us. Well, I went ahead and asked him what he meant by ‘investments’ but he clammed up right about then. He told me that as much as he didn’t want to go back to Hell, if old yellow-eyes found out that he’d blabbed about the investments he’d never live through it.” Mary gasped as she heard the name yellow-eyes. She focused in on Marc,

“So you’re telling me that you ran into a demon that worked for the demon who’s after my son?”

“Yeah Mary, but I wasn’t really able to get anything else out of him after the yellow-eyes comment. The only other thing he let slip was that yellow-eyes had increased the checkups on his investments after one of his investments went missing. That’s all he told us, but,” Marc gave Mary a long look, “we caught him going through the county birth records for ’83.”

“The year Sammy was born.” Marc nodded, while John started to look slightly sick, like this was something he really didn’t want to hear. 

“Mary,” Terry said gently, trying to sound sympathetic, “Marc and I think that Sammy might have been one of yellow-eyes investments.” Mary looked like she was about to protest, but Marc cut her off before she could.

“Look, it makes sense! Sam was born in ’83 and we know that yellow-eyes was interested in him. Not to mention that Sam was taken by another demon who was fighting yellow-eyes. Face it, Mary, your son has most likely been a pawn in demonic politics for the past three years!” Mary gave him a look that could have made even the most seasoned hunter tremble.

“You think I don’t know that! He’s my son, Marc. I would do anything for him. That’s why we need to rescue him!” Marc and Terry shared a long look. Finally, Marc looked back at Mary.

“Mary,” he started slowly, “I think we need to consider the option that this is no longer about rescue, but about revenge.” At Marc’s words, Mary narrowed her eyes.

“What exactly do you mean by that?” She spat, obviously trying not to shoot the man on the spot. Trying to take his brother out of the hot spot, Terry continued where Marc had left off.

“We just think that maybe a rescue isn’t going to happen anymore.” Seeing Mary was about to blow up, he continued faster, preventing her from getting a word in. “Just think about it Mary! Sam’s been gone for three years. If the demons haven’t killed him yet, I doubt he’s going to be the same boy you remember. He’s been raised by demons, and apparently he’s some demon’s ‘investment’. Even if we do find him, its not going to be pretty.” Mary was about to chew Terry’s heard off, but surprisingly John beat her to the punch.

“Are you implying that my son might not be human any more? That he might be some demon’s kid?” John’s voice was low and dangerous. Terry gave a small gulp. John didn’t often talk at these meetings, but when he did people listened. Terry opened his mouth to continue but John cut him off.

“Well he’s not. He’s my son, not some demon’s. I was there when he was born and that boy is completely human. My son is being held captive by demons, not consorting with them.” 

“But,” Marc managed to squeeze out before Mary cut him off again.

“You two have helped me in the past few years but if this is what you think about my son then you can keep your help. Goodbye Marc, Terry. Call me when you get your heads out of your asses.” With that Mary and John turned to leave. “Oh, and” Mary turned around one last time at the door. “if I hear that you somehow manage to find my son and hurt him, demons will be the least of your worries.” With that, Mary and John left the meeting, got Dean from his cousins, and left the Campbell compound for good.

The first thing John and Mary did after leaving the compound was make their way over to Guthrie, Oklahoma. Just because the demon was gone, it didn't mean that they wouldn’t be able to find out something about yellow-eyes’ so called investments. They suspected that they would be spending at least a few months in Guthrie looking into the demon’s info. After all, all they had to go on was that the demon was interested in children born in ’83; and well, there were a lot of babies born in ’83. Mary knew that the research would take a while, so she and John rented a small apartment instead of getting a motel room, and immediately enrolled Dean in school.

Mary was thinking about letting Dean finish the year in Guthrie. The school had just started the second semester, so it was an easy time for Dean to switch schools. Mary tried to enroll Dean in the local school whenever they stayed somewhere for more than three weeks, but if it was a short hunt, she would homeschool him when she could. Going to a school for only two weeks created more problems than it fixed. Mary wanted Dean to have the best education they could provide while hunting, and sometimes homeschool was just the best option.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay kidums, I’m back. It’s me Leo, and if there are any grammar mistakes, its because I was editing it while trying to read the whole thing in an Indian accent. My accent is horrible. I’m trying to learn how to do a Scottish accent, and that is failing too. Anyways… I hope you liked this chapter. It had some protective, badass Mary in it. Please leave a comment. For every comment you leave, I will learn a new accent (well attempt too). Please leave a comment cause my sister gets really annoyed when I do my accents. Bye Bye!


	7. Seven

“Daddy, I don’t want to go.” Michael looked at his son, who was currently looking up at him with big, scared eyes.

“Why not, Sammy? You’ve been excited about kindergarden for the whole summer.”

“What if they don’t like me? What if they think I’m too different?” Taking a deep breath, Michael crouched down so that he was eye level with his son.

“Sammy, being different’s a good thing. If they don’t like that, then they’ll miss out on a great friend.”

“But dad,” Sam looked at him with serious eyes, “Why is being different good if we have to move all the time because of it?” 

“Sammy, we move to keep you safe, not because you're different. You’re special and you should be proud of that. Just don’t show off, okay?” Michael ended with a small laugh, and ruffled Sam’s hair. Sam made a face as Michael stood up.

“I’m not stupid, dad. I know not to talk about angels. You’ve been over this with me since I was born.” It was true, Michael had been telling Sam that he couldn’t talk to anyone except Daddy about Daddy’s family since Sam was old enough to talk.

“Yeah, I know you do, champ. You’ll be fine.” Sam smiled at the reassurance and took Michael’s hand as they walked towards the sandy-colored school. Since Sammy was much smarter than the average 5 year old, Michael sometimes forgot that Sam was still just a little boy scared for his first day of school. 

Inside the school, Sammy looked around the building, and grabbed Michael’s hand tighter. The school was so big. It held students all the way from kindergarden to fourth grade. Thankfully, the kindergardeners only went to school for half the time the other kids did. Michael was already nervous enough about leaving his very special son in the care of complete humans who had no idea about the supernatural; he didn’t think he’d be able to send Sammy off for the whole day. What if something happened? What if somebody hit Sammy on the back and he accidentally let his wings out?

Sammy’s wings had finally fully developed about three months ago. Of course, they would continued to grow in size as Sammy’s body grew, but all the tiny bones and feathers had grown in. Except for Sam’s flight feathers, those wouldn’t come in until Sam hit puberty around twelve or thirteen. While his wings were growing Sammy had seemed fascinated by them. He loved flapping them and grooming time was his favorite. Apparently it tickled. Sam was very good about his wings, eagerly doing all the strengthening exercises Michael made him do. Like any other muscle, wings had to be used to be kept in good shape.

Sam’s wings had come as a bit of a surprise. Most nephilim didn’t even grow wings and those who did usually had weak wings like those of cupids. In fact, the only nephilim to be powerful enough to have the wings of a seraph had been the reason that God had banned nephilim. That’s why Sammy’s wings were so surprising. Unlike any other nephilim before him, Samuel grew three sets of wings, just like his father. Only the archangels had six wings, and the fact that Sammy did too scared Michael. In angelic society, wings were a measure of power. Sammy’s six wings showed that he was incredibly powerful, probably more powerful than some angels. With that much power Michael knew that eventually his brothers would find out about Sammy, and then he would have to be able to protect himself. As Sammy grew older, it would become much more difficult for Sam to hide his growing grace. Already Michael had started to teach Sammy how to hide his grace on his own since it was getting to the point where it would be too powerful for anyone other than the owner to hide.

Even though Michael was scared for the dangers having three sets of wings would put Sam in, every time he saw his son’s wings he was awed by the amazing child he had helped to create. Normally, Angel wings were colorless. They ranged from pitch black to pure white and any shade of gray in between, but they were never colored. Michael himself had two pairs of snow white wings with the middle set being a dark grey. Sammy on the other hand, had wings of which Michael had never seen the like. The bottom pair were silver, such a pure silver that they almost looked to be made of metal. One day Michael had taken Sammy to a private lake so he could play out side with his wings out, and they had almost been blinding in the sun. 

Sam’s middle set was even more surprising. Unlike, any other angel or nephilim before him, Sam had a set of colored wings. They were the exact same blue-green color of Sammy’s eyes, though when Sam used his grace his eyed became tinted with silver. Perhaps the most surprising thing about Sammy’s wings was the top-set. For some reason they were speckled. The wings were such a dark midnight blue that they looked black, but had pure white spots all over them. To Michael they almost looked like the stars when away from human pollution. Unlike the stars though, the spots seemed to shift and dance whenever Sam moved. Michael didn’t know if the uniqueness of Sam’s wings was because he was the son of an archangel or because, unlike other nephilim, Sam essence was born of the merging of a soul and grace rather than the merging of two souls one that had a bit of grace riding along. Michael suspected it was a combination of the two.

Thankfully, Sammy had learned how to hide is wings before he started school. Since Sam’s grace was tied to his body, unlike a full angel in a vessel, Sam’s wings seemed to prefer to exist on the physical plane. Michael had to work to manifest his wings on the physical plane, but Sammy loved just letting his wings out. Sammy still couldn’t remove his wings fully from the physical plane yet. He could curl them up on his back and half-remove them, making them invisible to anyone other than an angel, but Sammy said he could still feel it when something touched them. Sammy didn’t like keeping his wings invisible; he said it itched, but he knew that he had to keep them hidden when around anyone but Michael. Besides, Sammy knew that Daddy would let him let them out when they were alone. Michael hoped that as he grew Sam would be able to remove them completely from the physical plane, but like so many things with raising his very special nephilim son, he just couldn’t know for sure.

Eventually, Michael was able to locate the school’s administrative office, where he met with the principal to register Sam for school. Michael knew that they had to move too often to be able to stay a full year in the same school, but he made a promise to himself that for Sam’s schooling there would be no more than three moves a year. If he was careful about using his grace, and picked towns that were in central areas by lots of hunts, Michael thought it was a reasonable goal. The principal was like almost every other person Michael had met since taking Sam. He accepted the condolences about his “wife”, told her that the accent was French and that yes, his son did speak English. It continued to baffle Michael as to why whenever someone heard his accent, people automatically assumed that his son didn’t speak English. Either way, after about an hour of paperwork and small talk, Sam was off to his first day of kindergarden and Michael was on his way to interview a witness in his latest case. 

When Michael picked his son up a few hours later, sammy’s fear about school had vanished. Michael knew that Sam was smart and would enjoy school, and he had his predictions confirmed when he saw Sam’s smile.

“Daddy! Daddy!” Sammy cried as he ran up to his dad, “I like school now. We did so much.” Michael proceeded to listen to a detailed account of everything that had happened to his son that day.

“And there was a girl named Rachel and she was next to me during nap time and then she shared her animal crackers with me so I gave her some of my goldfish!” 

“Is that so?” Michael laughed, “And did you learn anything?” Sammy looked sheepish as he buckled himself in the car.

“Well, we started to learn to read and went over the alphabet and did counting, but I already knew all that. Ms. Richards said I was really good for being able to say the whole alphabet on my own. I told her I could do it in French too!” Michael smiled as he drove back to their small apartment.

“That’s great Sam, I’m sure she was impressed. Just make sure not to speak in anything other than French and English. We’re French in this town.”

“I know Daddy. We learned some Spanish words too, and I pretended not to know them.”

“Good job, Son. How about to celebrate your first day of school we go get some ice cream?” Sam gave a large nod, smiling so wide that his dimples were almost off his face.

Life went on after Sammy’s first day of school. Sam continued to love and excel at kindergarden. So much so that after the first month, Sam’s teacher talked to Michael about moving Sam up a grade. Michael declined on the basis that he wanted Sam to have the most normal childhood possible, which meant having friends his own age. Sam was shooting up like a weed and Michael decided that his was a good time to start training Sam. Since he loved learning Sam didn't see the languages and research as training. Besides, Languages and learning control of his powers had already been a part of his life for years. And the physical aspect, well Michael decided to make that as much like a game as he could.

He worked on hand to hand with Sam, and enrolled him in a children’s karate class, thinking that Sam would like doing it with other kids. Of course Michael probably worked on it at home with Sam a bit more than the other parents did. Michael also started Sam on the basics of swordsmanship and knife-fighting, seeing that an angel blade would most likely be his weapon of choice.  Though Michael did start the child of with specially weight sticks rather than real blades. Already Sam was showing signs of being a natural with a blade. Sam also wanted to work with the guns that Michael occasionally used for hunts, but Michael made the executive decision that that aspect of training could wait till Sammy was a bit older.

Through all the training Michael still made sure that Sammy had the time to be a kid. He was allowed to have friends over after school and even went to a few birthday parties. In fact, Michael even got to know some of the parents. The mother of the little girl, Rachel, Sam had been talking about on the first day of school even occasionally watched Sam if a hunt took longer that the few hours he expected it to take. Rachel’s mother understood how hard it was to be a single parent. Giving Sam time to be human child wasn’t actually all that hard, seeing that Sam didn’t need nearly as much sleep as a normal child. Currently he only needed about six hours a night, and the number seemed to be going down.

All in all, Michael was content with his life playing human hunter in a way he never thought he could be. He was able to take hunts and then come home to his son after. Michael actually enjoyed hunting more than he thought he would. Then again, it shouldn’t have been surprising that the warrior of heaven like fighting to protect humans. Even though Michael knew that he and Sam would have to move on soon, he was happy. Until Michael’s phone rang one day with one of the biggest shocks Michael had ever received as a hunter.

“Dangé?”

“Yeah Bobby,” Michael answered.

“Have you ever heard of the Winchesters? Cause apparently they’re looking for a yellow-eyed demon too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey kidums, I’m back!! That was fun. We have midterms this week which sucks, but I’ve been trying not to procrastinate by going on tumblr. I also tried to learn a Scottish accent, but it just kind of turned out a mix between Russian and British. This is probably boring you, but pretty please leave my sister a comment (to cheer her up during finals) if you liked this chapter (I love the fluff. It killed me). That would be awesome. Well bye bye and I’m off to go stress over exams.  
> ~ Leo


	8. Eight

Five months after they cut ties with the Campbells, the Winchesters left Guthrie. Dean had been able to finish the semester in one place, and he had even gotten in a few weeks of summer vacation to spend with the friends he had made. Eventually though, John and Mary knew they had to move on. They had exhausted every possible lead on Sammy and the demon after him, and they had no reason to stay longer. They’d spent months looking and following up on any births in ’83, but they had almost nothing to show for it. The only thing they had found was that a boy born in ’83 lost his adoptive mother in a suspicious house fire on his six month birthday. Other than that though, nothing strange or out of the ordinary had happened to any of the children born in Guthrie in ’83, and besides, the boy Andrew Gallagher, hadn’t disappeared like Sammy had. He was currently attending a daycare service while his dad worked. All in all, Mary and John left Guthrie with no more information about Sammy’s disappearance then when they had arrived.

Once on the road again, Mary and John started to realize that hunting alone was a lot different than hunting alone with the rest of the Campbells available for backup. Without any contact with the Campbell base, hunts were taking a lot longer and were a lot more dangerous. There were instances where Mary and John spent days poring over lore in obscure library books looking for information they could have previously called Terry for. Even worse, John and Mary were forced to walk away from one or two jobs that were too dangerous for just two hunters. No matter how good of a hunter someone was, it was suicide to go after a vamp nest with any less than three people. After a particular nasty hunt, during which John came back with a busted arm, both Winchester adults realized that unlike the Campbell clan, they needed to create ties within the larger hunting community.

As it turned out though, making friends with a bunch of paranoid monster hunters who tended to stay under the radar was easier said than done. First off, Mary had no idea how to contact other hunters. Growing up she had always had her family to call on. Mary couldn’t even remember ever meeting a hunter that wasn’t a Campbell. At first Mary and John went with the theory that if they went on enough hunts eventually they would run into another hunter. While it was a great idea in theory, it didn’t really end up applying well to real life. After all they had been hunting for over three years now, and they still hadn’t run into any hunters other than Campbells. After three months of their admittedly far-fetched plan, Mary and John decided that it was time for a change in tactics. 

That meant it was time to actively start hunting out people who knew of the supernatural world. Again, it was a task easier said than done. Mary’s first thought was to go find a real psychic. She was sure that a psychic would be able to help them find another hunter. John was a bit more wary of the plan. Even though he had never met a true psychic, the idea of one made him uneasy. Mary, too, wasn’t a huge fan of psychics. She had met one as a child, and the encounter had freaked her out. Never-less, John and Mary put their uneasiness aside and started searching for a genuine physic. As it turned out, real psychics weren’t that common, while fakes were a dime a dozen. Mary and John must have found over two dozen fakes in the first few months of searching. They didn’t really have a concrete way of fishing out psychics so they usually just visited any psychics they could find in the yellow pages in the town of their current hunt. To make a long story short it took Mary and John almost a full year after starting their search to actually find a genuine psychic. 

They came across her on a case they were working, but instead of them finding her, Missouri Moseley found the Winchesters. When Mary had first found signs of a possible poltergeist taking up residence in her old home, she really hadn’t wanted to take the case. She didn’t know if she would be able to handle being back in the last place her family had been happy. But John reminded her that people could get hurt, and they didn’t have any other hunters to take care of it.

They had barely been in town for an hour when there was  a knock on the motel room door. Suspicious as to who could already know they were in town, Mary answered the door to a large, black women whom she had never met. 

“Well, honey, aren’t you gonna let me in?” Shocked all Mary could do was stare at the women.

“Excuse me?”

“Well you are Mary Winchester aren’t you?”

“Um, yes?” Mary was bit out of her element. She liked to know what was going on, but she currently had no idea what was happening.

“Don’t worry Child. I mean you no harm. My name’s Missouri Moseley. I felt you and your boys the minute you came into town.” Something finally clicked for Mary.

“So you’re a psychic?”

“I knew you were a smart one.”

“So, Ms. Moseley, is there a reason you’re here?”

“Well, I’m here to help you with the nasty that’s moved into your old house. And after, I thought you had need of a true psychic.”

“Thank you then. Why don’t you come in?”

When Missouri said she’d help them with the case, she wasn’t kidding. With Missouri’s help Mary and John were able to assemble the hex bags to banish the poltergeist and save the family living in the house. After wrapping up the case, Missouri invited the Winchester family over for tea, and so she could answer Mary and John’s questions. Once Dean was running around in Missouri’s backyard and the adults were settled in the kitchen, Missouri started talking.

“When you and John first moved to Lawrence, I knew you were a hunter, but I didn’t want to bother you when you’d gotten out.  After I heard about the fire, I went to visit you, but you were already gone. I visited your house and I could tell it’d had been visited by a great evil. I knew eventually you’d return to Lawrence, so I waited.” Missouri finished and waited for any questions.

“Can you tell us anything about thing that took our son?”

“All I can tell you is that whatever it was was very powerful and very evil. There were traces of a good force, but I couldn’t tell if that was because of the hunter protections you had set up or if it was something else.”

“Thank you. One last thing; can you tell us how to get in touch with any other hunters?”

“Well, I don’t usually have a lot to do with hunters, but I can tell you about a hunters bar up in Nebraska. Its run by a hunter’s wife and tends to be a haven for your folk.”

The next day the Winchesters left for Harvelle’s roadhouse. Though it should have taken only about a day to arrive, they were delayed about a week when John found a hunt in the town they stopped in for lunch. Eventually though the shiny black impala pulled up in front of a tired looking hunter’s bar. They arrived at around two in the afternoon; a little early for a bar, but never less, the roadhouse looked open. 

Mary led the way into the bar, weary as any hunter is in a new place, while John followed behind her with Dean. The room was dark and musty, typical for a roadside bar, yet still somehow managed to give off a feeling of familiarity. There were scattered tabled and chairs around the room, with a few pool tables in the back. The bar ran along one side, with various drinks stacked on the shelf behind it. At the bar a women about Mary’s age miraculously managed to wipe down the bar while still keeping hold of an energetic blonde toddler on her hip. She looked up at the close of the door.

“Can I help you folks?”

“Yes, someone told us that this was place to come if we wanted to know about some things.”

“Did they now? And who might you be?”

“Mary Campbell-Winchester, and this is my husband John and my son Dean.”

“Campbell, huh? So you folks finally decided to get off your high horses and talk to us regular hunters.”

“Please, we need your help. We’re not on the best terms with the Campbells anymore.” Hearing the desperation in Mary’s voice that was universal to all worried mothers, Ellen sighed. 

“Ok, then. I’m Ellen Harvelle and this trickster here is Joanna Beth. Why don't you come on around back?”

Once in the back, Ellen sent Jo off to play in what was supposedly her nursery. With an approving nod from Ellen, Mary sent Dean off to play with the toddler. Dean tried to protest, but even if he was almost ten, he wasn’t a hunter yet. Once the kids were otherwise occupied the adults started talking. Unlike most hunters, Ellen and her husband Bill didn’t have a tragic backstory to their career as hunters. Bill had an uncle who had been a hunter and he convinced his uncle to train him. Bill was currently out on a hunt, but Ellen expected him back in about a week or so. The Winchesters were welcome to stay until he returned, and get to know some of the hunters who dropped by. Ellen explained that the hunters’ network was pretty much centered at the roadhouse, and run by a guy named Bobby Singer in South Dakota. Pretty much every hunter out there apparently passed though the Roadhouse at one time or another. After a while, John went to find a motel for them, while Mary and Dean stayed behind to continue to get to know the Harvelles.

As it turned out, Mary and Ellen were actually pretty similar. They ended up bonding pretty quickly due to the trials of having impulsive hunter husbands and raising rambunctious kids around a cache of weapons. Mary didn’t tell Ellen about why she and John were hunting, and Ellen didn’t ask. Mary wanted to find people who could help them with the search for the yellow-eyed demon, but she had to know she could trust Ellen before she told her about Sammy. Mary couldn’t take the chance that Ellen would react like her family and think that Sammy was past saving. 

The next day, Mary and John returned to the Roadhouse. Ellen knew some hunters were stopping by and she thought she’d introduce them to the Winchesters. Besides, Dean had been a saint the previous day helping with Jo. Ellen didn’t realize it was Dean’s natural older brother instincts kicking in. He wasn’t there to be an older brother to Sammy, but he’d be one for Jo. The Winchesters spent the next week or so helping Ellen out with the roadhouse until Bill returned. Bill turned out to be a gruff man and good hunter, yet still managed to be a great father to Jo judging by the tackle hug he was given when he walked in the door. Like Mary and Ellen, John and Bill seemed to hit it off. Bill was a former military man too, and he and John spent some time with a beer retelling old service stories. It took about three days for the two men to get restless, so some research saw Ellen and Mary sending their husbands off on a salt and burn together to get some of it out of their system.

Over the next week, Mary continued to help out and meet hunters at the Roadhouse, and Dean continued to act as a big brother for little Jo. Dean liked being a big brother to Jo, but at the same time, he couldn’t help thinking about how he had missed out on this with Sammy. By the time the men returned, Mary and Ellen had become pretty good friends while Jo was following Dean around like an idol. The day after John and Bill returned, Mary and John decided that they would tell the Harvelle’ about Sammy and the demons after him.

As Mary had come to believe over the past few weeks, the Harvelle’s reacted completely differently than her family had. Ellen and Bill were parents too and they knew that if Jo had been in Sammy’s position, they too would do anything to save their child. When Mary hesitantly told Ellen about the demon’s supposed investment in Sammy, Ellen didn’t say that she thought Sammy couldn’t be saved. She promised Mary that she would do anything she could to get her little boy back to her. 

The Harvelle’s had never heard tell of a yellow-eyed demon, but they promised to keep an ear out for any hunters who had. The best advice they could give the Winchesters was to go visit Bobby Singer. In addition to organizing the hunting community, he apparently had an extensive library on demon lore. Ellen had told Mary that if anyone had information on the yellow-eyed bastard, it would be Bobby. So, almost three weeks after they had walked into the Roadhouse, the Winchesters headed off to visit the hunting world’s resident demon expert.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was fun. So I didn’t fail any of my finals *high fives you from the computer screen*. I’m still waiting for my french grade, but I have faith in my french genes (Jk, I suck at french). Anyways, how did you like the chapter? Well good thing you can answer that question by leaving a comment! I hoped you liked it. The plot is heating up, eh? I’m listening to this song by Mika, and the lyrics are “I want to be your father, your brother too, and anyone else who touches you” and I’m slightly disturbed. Okay, I’ll stop rambling now, but to sum it up, This story is the bomb, please tell the wonderful author what you think, and Mika is awesome.  
> ~ Leo (aka the super awesome sister)


	9. Nine

Michael’s reaction to hearing that the Winchesters were hunting again was first and foremost shocked, but after he gave it some thought he had to admit that it made sense. Mary had been a hunter in her youth and Michael knew she wasn’t stupid; it made sense that she would make the connection between Sammy’s disappearance and her deal ten years prior to it. And well, if she didn't have all the details, it was still plenty to push her back into hunting. 

With the news of the Winchesters new occupation, Michael considered bringing Sam back to the rest of his family. After all, it wasn’t as if they couldn’t protect themselves anymore. In the end though, Michael decided against it. Fighting off demons was a lot different than fighting off angels, or even yellow-eyes. Michael was pretty sure that even the great Mary Winchester couldn’t take on such a high level demon. 

Besides, Michael was worried about how the Winchesters would react when they found out that Sammy was only half human. The Campbells weren’t known for being the most tolerant of hunters; they were more of the not 'human means evil' variety. Michael didn’t want to take the chance that Sammy would be hunted by his own family. And well, if he was being honest with himself, Michael liked raising Sammy and he didn’t want to take the chance that if Mary got Sammy back she would tell Michael to leave her family alone. Michael wouldn't do anything yet, but when Sammy was older and fully developed into his powers, he’d give Sammy the choice if he wanted to contact the Winchesters or not.

Michael let Sammy finish the semester at his current school, then they moved again during winter break. Michael had started moving them a bit more often and Sammy finished kindergarden in his third school of the year. Ever since Bobby’s call, the Winchesters had been trying to meet with him, wanting to exchange information on yellow-eyes, but Michael was careful to make sure that something always came up to prevent them from meeting. He also took extra care to make sure that when he brought Sammy to the Roadhouse or Bobby’s that the Winchesters weren’t also there. So far his precautions were working and he’d managed to make his unwillingness to meet them look like bad luck and a busy schedule. He had talked to John on the phone once, but he made sure that he wasn't much of a help. After all, even with the angelic mojo and knowledge, Michael still wasn’t that much farther along to figuring things out himself.

Currently, Michael and Sam were at the roadhouse. Michael was catching up on news in the hunting world, while Sammy was entertaining himself and four year old Jo in the backyard. Jo and Sam always sequestered themselves away from the grownups whenever they visited the roadhouse. The two entertained themselves for hours in those imaginary worlds that only young children can enter. It made Michael happy to see that even if he had had to take Sam away from his older brother that at least he could get sibling companionship somewhere, and with the amount of mothering Ellen gave Sammy it was almost as if they were siblings. That night Bobby called Michael with a hunt. 

“Michael?”

“Bobby, it’s good to hear from you.” Bobby started off asking about Sammy, as he always did.

“How’s that son of yours doing?”

“He’s just finished school, and excited for the summer. He and Jo are probably getting covered from head to toe in dirt right now.” Michael heard Bobby chuckle at that.

“Well, if you can rip him away from her I’ve got a job for you.” Michael knew that it was a big job or Bobby would have suggested that he leave Sam with Ellen. Bobby knew that Michael wouldn’t leave Sam with someone else for an extended length of time; they just couldn’t keep Sammy safe like he could.

“Okay,” Michael replied, “What have you got for me?”

“Seems like we have a pretty big demon job up in Ohio. There’s two demons traveling across the state. They’re killing families with toddlers. They’re changing meat suits every few days, trying to avoid hunters, I guess. Anyway, I talked to one guy who was possessed. He was asleep most of the time, but he’s pretty sure they’re looking for a specific kid.” Michael nodded, then realized that Bobby couldn’t see him. After almost six years of living among humans, he behaved like them without even thinking.

“Okay, I’ll find them and send them straight back to Hell.”

“Try to find out who they’re looking for and why.” Michael made a noise of acknowledgement.

“Where where they last seen?”

“Town called Canal Winchester, a little south of Columbus.” Michael gave a small smile at the ironic town name; then replied,

“I’ll call you when we get there.”

One day later Michael pulled into Canal Winchester’s one motel. Sammy had been good during the drive, as he always was, but Michael could see that he was starting to get restless. After checking in, Michael took Sam to the park across the street for an hour or so; it was too late in the day to start his investigation anyway. Of course, the next day, after long hours of research and interviewing, Michael learned that the demons had moved on from Canal Winchester. That night word came of another attacked family in the suburbs of Columbus. Dutifully, Michael loaded up Sammy again and drove up to Columbus. Michael made a bit of headway in Columbus but he still wasn’t able to catch the demons.

This pattern continued for over two weeks till the beginning of July. Michael would almost get to the pair, then they would move on, and he would find them again. The demons weren’t killing for the fun of it, they were obviously, as the possessed man had said, looking for someone or something. They killed quickly and efficiently when they assumedly discovered that the current family wasn’t who they were looking for. They continued to move along Ohio in a northwesterly fashion, until Michael found himself tracking them in Defiance. Michael was starting to feel good about his chances of getting them in Defiance; he had caught their trail earlier than usual.

It quickly became obvious that the demons were circling around a particular church in the area. The problem was that Michael had no idea why. It was a break from the pattern and Michael knew that any break from the pattern was something serious. Usually around this time in a town the demons were looking into families with young children, but here they seemed to be focused on a catholic church. Michael figured the best way to see why the demons wanted this church was to actually go to the church. Packing Sammy into the car and telling him to wait for him, Michael parked the car on church property and went to see just what was so special about this church. It took Michael over an hour to find out that it wasn’t the church that was special but the people who worked there. According to a secretary, their newest deacon was out for the day to celebrate his birthday with his wife and young daughter. As soon as he heard about the small child, Michael was out the door and racing towards the address he had received. He just hoped he wouldn’t be to late.

Once Michael pulled up to the deacon’s house, he could feel two demonic souls and three very terrified human ones, one of which was very young. Yelling at Sammy to stay in the car, Michael dashed into the house. He was too late to save the father, who was falling to the floor with his throat slit, but he hoped he could he could save the mother and child. He launched himself at the demon who was cornering the mother. They fought for a few minutes, but the demon distracted Michael long enough for the other demon to kill the mother as well. At this point, the child was bawling and screaming. Michael watched from where he was fighting with the first demon as the second approached the child. Michael was trying to figure out a way to get to the child before the demon when all of a sudden a very familiar little voice was screaming “No!”

Michael and the demon he was fighting stared as Sammy let out  blast of telekinetic power, throwing the demon approaching the little girl to the side and knocking it unconscious. Coming to his senses Michael yelled at his son to get the child out of the house before stabbing the distracted demon in front of him with his angel blade. Once he looked up he could see that Sammy and the toddler weren’t  in the room, and Michael would definitely be having a conversation with his son about the meaning of the words stay in the car. Michael made his way over to the last demon, who was slowly waking up. Michael was about to kill him too, but before he could strike the final blow, the demon smoked out leaving behind a dead meat suit. With a curse, but knowing there was nothing he could do, Michael went back out to the car, where Sam was comforting a crying toddler.

Michael didn’t know what to do with child, but he would worry about that when they were out of danger. Loading Sammy and the toddler into the car, Michael made his way back to the motel. By the time that they got there, Sammy had managed to calm the girl enough that she was just had the occasional hiccup rather than tears. Sammy led the girl into the room while Michael doubled checked the protections. Once satisfied that the room was safe, Michael went to the little child. Thinking back to the way he had been with Sammy at that age, Michael did his best not to be to imitating. 

“Hello Sweetie, what’s your name?” Instead of answering the child looked at him with big eyes then tried to hide her face behind her bright red hair. Sammy came over and wrapped his arms around the girl. She leaned into  the hug; Sammy seemed to have gained her trust after getting her out of the house. 

“It’s okay,” Sammy told her, “He’s my daddy.” Peering out from behind the red locks she gave Michael a quick reply before going back to Sam.

“Anna.”

“Well Anna, its very nice to meet you.” Anna gave him a little nod and stopped hidding behind Sam and her hair. Michael called it progress. He knew that Anna was to young to know why the demons had been after her, and there was no doubt that it was Anna they had been after, but maybe Michael could see why. After all there was no reason that demons would devote so much time to finding a purely insignificant human child. Reaching deep into his grace, Michael started to read Anna’s soul. At first nothing seemed different from every other two year old on the planet but once Michael got past the superficial layer, he could see why the demons had been so eager to get to her. Anna was a fallen angel, specifically Anael. 

Michel didn’t know why Anael had chosen to fall, but it probably had something to with Raphael now leading Heaven. No matter why Anael had left though, she was now a very human child who had just lost her parents. Michael knew that Anna couldn’t go to any family her parents had had or into the system; one of the demons had escaped so the higher ups in Hell were soon going to know there was a defenseless fallen angel on earth. Michael couldn’t let Hell get to Anna, she was just a child. There was really only one solution he could see.

“Anna,” Michael started, “How would you like to come live with me and Sammy?” Anna stared back at him with wide eyes. She looked up at Sammy and back to Michael. Slowly, she gave Michael a little nod.

“Okay, then why don’t we get you into bed okay?” Michael could see the toddler was starting to drop off to sleep. 

An hour or so later, after Michael had tried to get the little girl to sleep but ended up letting Sammy do it, since he was surprisingly good with the toddler, Anna was asleep in the bed farthest from the door and Michael was sitting at the table with his son.

“Sam, why did you come into the house after I told you to stay in the car.” Sam at least had the grace to look sheepish before replying.

“I’m sorry, Daddy. It’s just that she was so scared, and I could feel how scared she was, and I didn’t want her to feel scared.” Michael sighed. It looked like Sam’s empathy was getting stronger.

“Okay, Buddy. I understand. Just try to listen to me next time, okay?” Sam nodded his agreement.

“Anyway, do you mind Anna staying with us, Sammy?” Sammy perked up at that and gave Michael a big dimpled grin.

“It’s fine dad.”

“You sure kiddo?”

“Yeah, I’ve always wanted a brother or sister. And now I have one.” Michael ruffled Sam’s hair then sent him to get ready for bed as well. He’d had to take Sam away from his brother, but maybe now he’d be okay with a sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys! Leo, my super awesome sister/editor, had a lot of homework today so it’s actually me writing the authors note today (that also means that I did my own editing this week). So I try to update on Sundays, but I may occasionally be a day late/early. If I know before hand that there’s gonna be a delay in my posting schedule, I’ll try to tell you guys. Also Canal Winchester and Defiance are real towns in Ohio, though I've never been to either of them. Anyways, as always, questions and comments are very welcome and very appreciated! :)


	10. Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey All! So I’m going to start posting the ages of the kids at the beginning of the chapter, cause it can get a little confusing. (I have a pretty busy timeline sketched out filled with birthdays and such). Anyway, Dean is almost 11 in this chapter (It’s January) and Jo is a few months shy of 5.

After meeting Bobby Singer, the Winchesters became both well known and accepted in the wider hunting community. Mary decided to stop using the name Campbell as most hunters didn’t particularly like the hunting family that thought themselves better than everyone else. Mary and John met hunters who they could call for back up, especially a young hunter named Caleb. In his mid twenties, Caleb had learned the business from his father. Dean idolized the young man, and thought him to be height of cool. So Mary had to deal with Dean’s “I want to look and act exactly like Caleb” faze.

Mary was constantly thankful for the day they had met the Harvelles and, through them, Bobby Singer. The Winchesters still didn’t operate out of a home base, but they knew that they were always welcome at the Roadhouse or Bobby’s. A big factor in that seemed to be Dean. The boy had a way of getting adults to like him. The hunters at the Roadhouse were always willing to tell him a hunting story or two as long as Mary wasn’t around to hear, and it took barely a week of staying at Singer Salvage for Mr. Bobby to become Uncle Bobby.

Unfortunately, Bobby didn’t have much information for the Winchesters on the yellow-eyed demon. The only thing he could really tell them was that he was one of the higher up demons, but the Winchesters had already known that. Bobby was able to tell them about another Hunter who was looking for the yellow-eyed demon in relation to his wife’s death. They had tried to set up a meeting with the man whom Bobby told them was a single father, but so far John had only managed to talk to him on the phone once, and not for very long at that.

Eventually the Winchesters became an accepted part of the hunting community, and once, when the Winchesters had a fews days between hunts, they found themselves celebrating New Years 1990 with the Harvelle’s at the roadhouse. Toasting to the coming year, none of them knew how their lives would change in the coming months. They sent the kids to bed, and then stayed up to wait for the new year. The next day as her first surprise to John for the new year, Mary told John something she had only found out about a few days prior. She was pregnant again.

With a new baby on the way, the Winchester family knew that they would have to make some life style changes. Mary wouldn’t give up hunting or looking for Sam, but she knew it wasn't feasible to move around or hunt during the later months of her pregnancy. And having done the mothering thing with Dean, and for a little while with Sam, Mary knew that they wouldn’t be able to go back to their nomadic life style for at least a year after the baby was born. All in all it looked like the Winchesters would be looking for at least a semi-permanent base of operations. Thankfully though, Mary knew she wouldn't have to worry about settling down for a few months at least. She may not be able to hunt as she usually did while pregnant, but she knew how to be careful and was sure she could continue for another month or two at least. 

The second big event that happened in the first few months of the decade began a few weeks later. Mary and John had just finished up a routine haunting in some no-name town in Iowa when they got a call from Bobby Singer. Apparently there were electrical storms and cattle mutilations in Lebanon, Kansas. The Winchesters knew that Bobby usually sent the elusive Michael Dangé after demonic omens, since he was known throughout the hunting community as the best at dealing with demons, but according to Bobby he was a bit busy at the moment with his new adoptive daughter. Personally Mary couldn’t see why anyone would bring a child into the life for no apparent reason. If it hadn’t been for Sammy, Dean would have never even known about the supernatural, but she didn’t like to criticize other people’s parenting so she let it be and agreed to do the job. 

Mary didn’t really like to bring Dean along to possession cases since they were so dangerous and Dean had only just began training. Luckily though, they were only a few hours from the Roadhouse so they dropped Dean off with Ellen and Jo. John would have liked to see Bill, maybe even invite him along on the hunt for backup, but he was away on a werewolf hunt with Rufus Turner. So Mary and John left their good wishes with Ellen, and headed down to Lebanon. 

Lebanon, Kansas was, as Mary learned from a brochure in the motel office, the geographical center of the continental United States, not that that mattered to their case. The first order of business was to talk to the townsfolk. Mary and John needed to find out if anything strange was going on, and the best way to find that out was to talk to people. They would start with the farmers who had lost cattle and move on from there using what ever information they found out. If worst came to worst, Mary would break into the police records for the past few weeks to see if anything strange or odd had been reported since the omens began. Mary had always been better than John at sneaking around and getting into the things she wasn’t supposed to.

It took a while for the Winchesters to find a solid lead, but eventually they found some information about a demon. Its seemed that a certain nurse had started acting out of character in the past few weeks. Her husband said she had done a complete one eighty in the past few weeks and that he was even considering filing for a divorce. To Mary and John it sounded like they had found their demon. The one strange thing though was that other than a complete personality change, the demon was still playing Linda the nurse. She kept going to work, and it seemed that there were no complaints from the old man she helped with. The old man was apparently a blind veteran who needed a nurse with him during the day. Linda, the demon nurse, split the week with another nurse and worked at the hospital when she wasn’t with the man. 

Deciding that they needed more information as to why the demon was sitting still and playing human, the Winchesters decided to try to find out what was keeping her in Lebanon before exorcising her. They talked to her coworkers at the hospital, but nothing they said seemed to be reason for the demon to stay. Linda came to work on time, did her job, and left; she wasn’t even messing with the patients like one would expect a demon to. After finding absolutely nothing at the hospital, Mary and John were starting to think that maybe the old veteran had something to do with the demon’s strange behavior. So without further ado, Mary and John went to visit a Thomas J. Carey.

Luckily, the Winchesters had managed to correspond their visit when Thomas’ other nurse was with him, so the demon wasn’t around when they got to the house. The nurse working, Sally she said her name was, greeted them warmly and with tea. They started with the usual questions. Have you noticed any strange behavior lately? Anything out of the ordinary? It wasn’t until John started to ask the man about sulfur that things got strange.

“You’re hunters, aren’t you?” Mary and John looked at each other surprised, though no one saw their surprise since the nurse had given them some privacy. John figured there was nothing for it so he went down a new track.

“Yes, we are. Mr. Carey, My name’s John Winchester and we think,” John was going to tell Carey about their suspicions but he was quickly cut off.

“Not Henry Winchester’s boy?” That shocked Mary and John even more. Mary knew that John’s father had left when he was a kid and that John really didn’t like to talk about his abandonment. 

“Yes, Henry Winchester was my father. Did you know him?”

“He was a legacy; you are too.” John had no idea what that meant so he asked.

“The Men of Letters of course. Did your father tell you nothing?” John was starting to get fed up with the secrecy.

“Apparently not. And what exactly are the men of letters?”

“Your father was one and you should be too. We are the keepers of all supernatural lore.”

“The keepers…?” John started to question but he wasn't able to finish.

“I don’t have time to explain. I have known there is a demon around me for sometime, but I had none to turn it over to. Now you are here though.” John took a breath to try and get something other than cryptic answers, but Carey kept talking. “My name is Larry Ganem and I’m the only survivor of the 1958 massacre. Take this and do not let the demons get ahold of it.” Larry handed John a box and leaned forward to whisper something in his ear.

John was just leaning back from what ever message Larry had given him when Larry tensed.  As Larry drooped boneless on the couch, John saw the current nurse Sally standing behind him holding a bloody knife with pitch black eyes. John was shocked for a moment, and very thankful for his amazing wife. Larry was barely dead, when Mary was on the demon like a lion on its prey. Mary was already reciting the exorcism as she lunged towards the possessed women. After a brief struggle, Mary finished the exorcism and watched as a cloud of black smoke shot from the woman’s mouth leaving just an unconscious body behind. 

After calling an ambulance for the nurse, the Winchester couple got out of the house as fast as possible. They found Nurse Linda’s body hidden in the bushes by the front porch. Mary guessed that the demon had moved from Linda to Sally in order to get close to them. Once Mary and John reached the impala, they didn’t stop driving till they were in the next town over. Once they were out of Lebanon, the Winchesters found a motel and settled into talk. Luckily, the Winchesters had a habit of keeping their things in the impala in case they had to make a quick escape, so Mary and John had their bags.

The first thing Mary did was ask John what Ganem had whispered in his ear. Apparently it was coordinates. Then they opened the box only to find a single key. Mary quickly put together that the key must open whatever was at the coordinates, but it was getting late so solving that mystery was going to have to wait until the next day. Mary and John spent the rest of the evening figuring out what Larry had meant by men of letters, legacy, and massacre. The closest they could figure was that John’s father had known about the supernatural and been killed when John was young, which led to Mary joking about how they really were meant to be hunters. They gave Dean and the roadhouse a call like they did every night, but Ellen didn’t know anything about the so called men of letters. They gave Bobby a call too for good measure, but he too had nothing to give them. Eventually they went to bed with what seemed to be more questions than they had started with.

The next morning the Winchesters looked up the coordinates only to find that they were located right outside of Lebanon. When they got to the coordinates all they found was what looked like a cross between a fallout bunker and an abandoned factory. Though it seemed like a strange place for a supernatural secret society, the old key Larry Ganem had given John fit in the round door embedded in the hillside, so the Winchesters assumed they had the right place. Once opening the door and turning on the lights, the couple stood in the doorway shocked. Before them was a huge multileveled entry way. When they eventually recovered enough to explore the rest of the place they discovered that it was huge and also had a kitchen and multiple bedrooms. After a quick search of the bunker, which included the discovery of storage rooms holding what looked be supernatural related objects and a garage filled with classic cars, Mary turned to her husband.

“John, I think we’ve found that home base we’ve been looking for.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So that’s chapter 10… As of right now I have no intention of including Abaddon and her story line in this story, but I’ve always loved the bunker and I thought it’d be a great home base for the Winchesters. Since, there’s no Abaddon here, I’m just going with the idea that it was just your average run-of-the-mill demon that killed the Men of Letters and Larry somehow managed to escape… Anyway I may be a day or so late posting next week cause I’m going away for the weekend, so I’ll either be posting pretty late Sunday or after school Monday. As always, comments and questions make my day! :)


	11. Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam is 7.  
> Jo is 5.  
> Anna is 3.

Michael laughed as he watched Anna try to do Sam’s hair in the back of the car. She was having trouble though since Sam’s hair was only long enough to make little tiny ponytails. Sam was starting to look like a mad scientist with his hair caught up in little ponytails all over his head. Michael winced in sympathy as Anna gave a particularly hard pull on Sam’s hair, but Sam just smiled. In the year since Anna had come to live with them, Sam had been the perfect older brother. He would play with Anna whenever she asked even though Michael knew Sam thought tea parties were too girly for a seven year old boy. 

It had taken the small family a while to adjust to having a little girl around, but eventually their lives normalized. Anna had pretty much immediately warmed up to Sam, but it took her longer to accept Michael. Anna had had nightmares the first few months she was with the family but Sam had always let her crawl into bed with him and held her until she fell asleep again. She was clingy in the beginning, but Sam never complained. Whenever Michael took the two to the park, Sammy would always proudly tell the other boys that ‘yes he would rather play make believe with his sister than soccer with them.’

Michael was glad that Sam had taken to Anna so well. He was a big help with her since, as it turned out, raising a completely human little girl was a lot different from raising a half angel little boy. Anna had eventually warmed up to Michael about a four months after he had adopted her, one month after the nightmares had started to die down. The first time she had called him Daddy was about seven months after she had come to live with them and Michael had almost cried. Anna may not have been his biological daughter, but she had been his little sister as an angel, and as a human she needed a father; Michael was more than happy to fill the role.

Michael had taken a hiatus from hunting after finding Anna so she could settle in. He had called Bobby and Ellen to explain what happened and settled in a small town in New York. Initially, Bobby hadn’t been to happy about the idea of Michael bringing another child into the hunting life, but he’d warmed up to the idea once Michael had explained. Obviously Michael had neglected to tell Bobby that she was a fallen angel, but he did tell him that demons were looking for Anna. Being with Michael was the safest place for her, besides Michael had already decided that he wouldn’t force Anna to hunt if she didn’t want to. Ellen had reacted pretty much the same way as Bobby had, and had made Michael promise to bring Anna to visit when she had settled.

Michael had taken her up on her offer after they left the town in New York; they had remained in New York for nine months. It wasn’t as long a he would have liked, but even nine months was pushing it. Michael knew that the addition of Anna to his little family would be noted by everyone. The hunting community would be easiest to appease. To them Anna was just a girl he had saved on a hunt who had nowhere else to go. After a few years passed, Michael was sure that most people would forget that she was even adopted. 

The wild cards were the demons. One of the demons who had killed Anna’s parents had escaped, and everything depended on what he had observed and who he had worked for. Michael was of the opinion to always assume the worst possible scenario, so Michael was acting under the assumption that yellow-eyes knew what had happened. He just hoped yellow-eyes would keep that information to himself. So far Michael had found that most of yellow-eyes’ people knew very little about the big picture of his plans, or if they did, they weren’t talking. The one good thing was that Michael was sure he had never met the demon that had escaped, so there was little to no chance of the demons figuring out that the angel who saved Anna was actually the hunter known as Michael Dangé.

When the Dangé family finally got to the Roadhouse, Sam was excited for Jo to meet his new sister. Though Sammy was a great brother, he was worried that he couldn’t teach Anna the ‘girl code’. Apparently he had heard some girls in his class talking about it and he was scared that Anna didn’t have any one to teach it to her. He was hoping that Jo could help him out with this serious lack of knowledge. Michael couldn’t help thinking that he might actually have to ask the same thing of Ellen when Anna was older. He’d been the parent of a little girl for nine months, and already people were wishing him good luck for when she started dating.

Michael was surprised to see that not only were Ellen and Bill waiting for him, but Bobby as well. After the typical hugs and greeting during which Anna very shyly met the new adults and won Ellen’s heart, Michael sent the three children off to play while the adults talked. He turned to Bobby as Sam and Jo’s excited chatter entered the backyard.

“Michael, its good to see you.”

“You too, Bobby. What are you doing here?”

“Well, I wanted to meet that daughter of yours, and I knew you’d take a while to get up to my place. Besides it’s been a while since I saw Ellen and Bill, here.” Bobby sent a grin to the Harvelle’s as he spoke.

“So,” Ellen started, “How are you Michael? Has having two kids run you to the ground yet?” Michael gave her a wry smile.

“It’s been different that’s for sure, but Sam’s been a huge help. He’s the only one that can get her to sleep on some nights.” 

“Well that’s good,” Ellen said in all her motherly wisdom, “If you're determined to raise her in the hunting life, she’s gonna need a brother to rely on. And, you know, I think it’ll do that boy of yours some good. Kids need other kids you know.” Michael gave a small smile at that.

“Yes, I know. Sam loves being a brother. And yes, I am determined to keep her; she’s safer with me. Those demons were after her, and if I had let her go into the system they would have eventually found her. I can keep her hidden. Besides that little girl needs love, and that’s what I’m going to give her. As far as I’m concerned she’s mine just as much as Sammy is.” Michael didn’t really mean to come off so defensive, and maybe he had gotten a little soft in his years playing human, but Michael meant every word he said. 

“Okay, Michael. We understand,” Bobby placated, “but how are you so sure that she’s the little girl those demons were after? They killed lots a kids before you caught them. What makes Anna so special?” Luckily, Michael had known he might have to explain, so he already had a believable story planned. 

“Bobby, when I got there the parents were already dead, and those demons were trying to leave with her. Anna was the only kid they tried to kidnap instead of kill. I have no idea what makes Anna so special that they wanted to kidnap her, but there is no question that they are after her.” Ellen jumped in as soon as Michael ended.

“Well, don’t you doubt that we’ll do everything we can to keep them from getting her. No matter why the demons want her, that little girl is family now, and we protect our own.” Michael nodded in thanks. It amazed him how the human friends he had made on earth felt more like family to him than some of his actual brothers.

Meanwhile in the backyard, the three children were playing. Currently Sam was holding a small stick while Jo ran next to him with a slightly longer one. Anna was waving at them from behind a bush, calling out directions that would have made no sense to someone not playing their imaginary game. To any one who was allowed entry to their world, Jo was playing the valiant knight, while Sam was a powerful sorcerer. They were fighting a fierce dragon to free the princess, Anna. Suddenly Jo jumped forward and stabbed the bush next to Anna. 

“Die!” She turned to Anna and bowed, “I’ve rescued you!” Anna laughed and told Jo that Sammy had helped. Suddenly Sammy slipped out of nowhere and started to tickle Jo. After a few minutes of trying to tickle Sammy back, during which Anna joined the fray to help her older brother, Jo gave up.

“Okay! Okay! I give up! Sam the really powerful wizard helped to!” Sammy gave an authoritative nod while smiling at his little sister. Once the children caught their breath, Anna started to drop off to sleep on the padded porch seat. Over the past few months, Sammy had discovered that he had quite the talent for tiring out his little sister. Once she was completely out, Sammy and Jo sat next to each other on the swing bench.

“I like your new sister, Sammy. I’m glad your dad found her.” Sammy nodded in agreement.

“Me too. Daddy says it’s my job to protect her cause I’m the older brother. When I grow up, I’m gonna be a hunter and protect Anna from demons.”

“Me too. We’re gonna be great hunters someday, Sammy.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna be just as good as my dad.” Jo gave him a sly look.

“You know Sammy some hunters hunt in teams. We could be a team. You, me, and Dean.” Sam gave her a funny look.

“Who’s Dean?”

“He’s awesome! His mom and dad are hunters, and they come here sometimes. His mom and mamma are really good friends. He’s really old, like eleven, and his daddy started teaching him how to hunt this year!” She lowered her voice to a whisper, “He said he’d teach me some when Mamma wasn’t looking.” Sammy made a little humph. 

“He sounds really cool.”

“Don’t worry, Sammy, you’re still my favorite. You’d like Dean, don’t worry.” Sammy trusted Jo, so he nodded.

“Maybe I’ll meet him sometimes. I’ll have to if we’re gonna be a team someday.” Jo laughed and gave Sam a little shove.

“Yeah, We’re gonna be the best.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the kind of late update guys. I got sick today so this is up a little later than I was planning on. So anyway I’m going to be updating a few days late next week (I know, I’m sorry. I swear it will go back to normal after that) because I’m going to visit my grandparents for president’s day weekend and they don’t have wifi (It’s going to be a struggle, I’m actually going to have to socialize.) Anywho, comments and questions are like sunlight on a rainy day to me so pretty please comment.


	12. Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dean is 11.  
> Jo is 5.

Adam Winchester was born on September 29, 1990. It had been almost seven months since Mary and John had discovered what they had playfully dubbed the bunker. Within a few weeks after its discovery, the Winchester family was busy moving in to their new home base. Mary thought it was perfect. It was in a central location, within a days drive of both the Roadhouse and Bobby Singer’s place. Not to mention that it had the largest library on the supernatural that Mary had ever seen. 

Dean too was happy that they were finally settling down in one town. He liked having his own room again, and though he had never complained, Mary knew he hadn’t liked to constantly leave his new friends. Mary hoped that here in Lebanon, Dean would be able to go to the same school and keep the same friends for a few years. Of course, they would still leave occasionally for hunts, but someone was going to have to stay at the bunker with Adam and Dean still had a few years before Mary would be letting him on a hunt.

The first few weeks in the bunker, the place hadn’t really seemed like a home. It was dusty and old fashioned, but it soon started to show signs of habitation. Mary had started to personalize the kitchen in just the way she liked it, while John had started decorating a nursery for the baby. And, well, it didn't take Dean long to start leaving his stuff everywhere after he got used to the idea that he wouldn’t have to pack up and leave at any moment. Nowadays it wasn’t uncommon to find a forgotten page of math homework in the library and a dirty sweatshirt in the kitchen. When they had first entered the bunker, Mary had wondered if they would ever find every place it had to offer, but after a visit from the Harvelle’s, Mary could safely say that Dean and Jo had managed to explore every crook and cranny of the place. It was a miracle that they hadn’t managed to accidentally curse themselves with one of the items in the archives. There was now a very neatly written sign on the door of the archives proclaiming that it was off limits to children.

Adam was born a month after Dean had started seventh grade. This was the first year that Dean actually knew the kids he was going to start the school year with since he had finished off sixth grade in Lebanon. To Dean it was a strange experience, but one he found he enjoyed. Already Dean found himself crushing on Jenny B, who sat across the room from him. Not that Dean had told Mary that. No Mary had learned of Jenny B from Caleb who the boy had gone to for advice. And, as much as Mary respected Caleb as a hunter, she didn’t know if he was the best person to be giving her eleven year old son love advice; Caleb was more of the love ‘em and leave ‘em type. 

The day that Adam was born Dean promised him that he would protect him. Not even in his teens yet, Dean vowed that he wouldn’t let what had happened to his Sammy happen to Adam. Sometimes Dean thought it was funny how after all this time he still referred to Sammy as his. Usually though that train of thought just led to him to planning the days when Dad would give him the impala to drive and he would find the demon that took Sammy and get his brother back. Daddy had already promised the impala to him for his sixteenth birthday,

Mary was similar in her opinion to Dean. Just because she lost Sam did not mean that she loved Adam any less or that he was any less wanted. It just meant that she would do anything she could to protect him from the things that took his older brother. When she saw Adam, with eyes so very similar to her lost Sammy’s she promised him that he would grow up knowing both his brothers. John was of a similar mindset. Mary and John had always wanted three children; they had thought it was the perfect number. Now they just had to bring their family back together.

Originally Mary thought that they might have a few solid leads on Sam once Adam was born. After all, they had moved into the library for all supernatural lore and she didn’t have much else to do other than research during the pregnancy, but sadly she hadn’t come up with very much. She had learned a lot of things about a lot of different stuff, but none of it was what she needed. They had finally found out what the men of letters actually were, and with some digging had even found out why Henry never returned to John. That was some of the more relevant information they had found. The bunker’s library was huge and there was even more information contained in the archives. Mary knew that it would take them years to go through it all, but she was beginning to think they would never find anything about where Sammy was.

They had started with the demon section, and though they had found some information on yellow-eyes, it wasn’t as much as they had hoped. They hadn’t even found his name. They found mention of a yellow-eyed demon acting the regent of hell in Lucifer’s stead. Though it wasn’t much, the implications of the newest information did not bode well. It scared Mary to think that hell had order. Before the bunker, Mary had viewed demons and Hell as just chaos with a few of the more powerful demons ordering the others around. Now though, they knew that Hell actually had order, and probably had some serious plans. As for the demon that had kidnapped Sammy they had absolutely no further information on him. They found out it was possible for the most powerful demons to teleport away, but without seeing his eye color they had couldn’t figure out anything more. 

The mention of Lucifer was what led Mary to investigate the section of the bunker’s library labeled angels. She had always believed in the concept of angels; after all, how could there be a Hell without a Heaven? But, once Mary actually saw all the concrete information on angels, she started to get a bit mad. Apparently, the angels could walk on earth if they choose too; they just didn’t really care enough to help with all the evil in the world. Mary didn’t really think they were any better than demons if they just let demons run around killing people. The information in the bunker shattered her ideas that angels were watching over them. She started to believe that they just didn’t care. Anyway, Mary had yet to see an angel in all her years of hunting, so she knew that if she wanted to find her son she would have to do it herself. 

Overall Little Adam Winchester was born into a family that was more than ready to keep him safe, not to mention the various hunters in the hunting community who were also devoted to keeping the newest Winchester safe. It was one of the unspoken rules of the hunting community that no one messed with a hunter’s kid. Dean was happy that he could be a big brother again. He knew that he wasn’t replacing Sammy with Adam and he also knew that Sammy would be a great big brother to Adam when they found him. Mary found that Dean was actually a big help with Adam. He was older now, and Mary trusted him enough with the baby that she would let Dean watch Adam for a few hours so she and John could get some sleep.

Adam was almost six months old when they decided it was time to introduce him to the rest of what they considered their family. The Harvelles hadn’t met Adam yet, as they were giving the Winchesters some space to adjust to a new baby. So when Adam was old enough they decided to stop by for a visit. They were also going to see if there were any hunts for John. They had decided that they were comfortable enough with their routine that one of them could start hunting again. Even though the Roadhouse was only a few hours from the bunker they decided to split the trip into two days since Adam was still pretty young to spend long hours in a car. 

John had ulterior motives for stopping in the town they did though. John and Mary’s anniversary was coming up, and though they didn’t usually celebrate beyond a kiss, John decided that with all the work a new baby entailed Mary deceived a break. John remembered that a few years ago they had stopped in this town only for Mary to discover a small little Indian restaurant; she said it was the best Indian she had ever had. John didn’t particularly like Indian food himself, but he knew it was Mary’s favorite so he called ahead to make reservations. 

Mary put Adam to bed almost as soon as they settled into the motel room since they had gotten there a little later than expected. As soon as Adam was asleep John pulled Mary out of the room for their date night. Mary was worried to leave the kids alone, but John assured her that Adam was already asleep and that Dean was old enough to look after his brother for a few hours. Besides they had warded the hotel room seven ways from Sunday. Eventually Mary consented with strict instructions for Dean to call if anything even remotely out of the ordinary happened. 

Over all, John deemed the night a success. Mary loved the food and was able to relax for a bit. After dinner they went for a walk on the park across from the restaurant, and John was pretty sure they hadn’t had a date night like it since before Sammy disappeared. They ended up getting home later than expected, around one, but it wasn’t a problem. They walked into the room to find Dean asleep on the couch with the TV still on low volume.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that’s Adam, I guess. He doesn’t do much yet. ;P Anyway, I survived my weekend without wifi (the socializing was just as awkward as I anticipated). I also learned that 3 year-old sunscreen does absolutely nothing. Anyway, there’s about 4 inches of snow out my window right now. Anyway, as always, comments and questions are welcome and appreciated (and will probably take my mind of the subzero temperatures :P).


	13. Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam is 9.  
> Anna is 4 (almost 5).  
> Jo is 7.

Sam had just turned nine when Michael decided he was old enough for his first hunt. Ellen thought it was bit young, but she didn’t know that due to his angelic heritage Sam was smarter and more mature than the average nine year old. Besides, Sam hadn’t had a new power develop in a few years so Michael was pretty sure that they’d stopped developing until Sam reached puberty, when the next set of powers would crop up. Also Sam had excellent control of his powers now. He still couldn’t do big healing without getting tired but it made sense since he used his own energy to heal. The biggest development was that Sam could now quite easily hide his grace completely on his own; Michael decided that if he was mature enough to do that, he was mature enough to hunt. 

Besides, there were very few things that could actually kill Sam with his nephilim status, and hopefully they weren’t going to be facing any of those for a long time. The hunting Michael would let Sam do would mostly be training to see how Sam would act in high pressure battle situations. Though Michael wanted nothing more than for Sam to live a happy normal life, Sam was his son; and that meant that Sam would have to defend himself against Heaven and Hell at some point in his life. The only question was when, and Michael was doing his best to put that day off as long as possible. Michael had promised himself the day that Sam was born that he would do everything he could to protect Sam and to prepare the boy for the day he could not. Taking Sammy hunting was just fulfilling that promise. 

Of course, Michael wasn’t going to be throwing the young boy into a dangerous hunt and tell him to go have fun. No, Michael was going to start off with a simple salt n’ burn. So, he had found a ghost in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Michael had already done the research for the hunt and knew the identity of the spirit, but he wasn’t going to tell Sammy that. This was his first hunt and he was going to do the research for it. Michael didn’t expect it to take long, Sammy had already been helping him with research for a few years now. 

In all, it took the boy about a day and a half to figure out that the spirit was one Alicia White, killed by a drunk driver about two years prior. Now Alicia was going after any car with drunk drivers or passengers on the road she had been killed on. Which was a problem since there was a popular bar located on said road. Sam had also found Alicia’s grave, so that night he and Michael were heading out for his first hunt. First though, they had to go over the rules. Since Michael had spent the entire drive to Steamboat Springs lecturing on said rules he thought it was a good idea for Sam to tell him them for a change.

“No using my powers unless I absolutely have too.” Michael nodded at that. Sam could easily hunt with his powers, but that defeated the purpose of what Michael was trying to do by taking him hunting. When he was fighting angels and demons Sam wouldn’t be able to rely on his powers since his opponents would also be powerful. Michael was teaching Sam how to react in a battle situation; it would be more like real battle if it lasted longer than a few seconds. Michael was also raising Sam to act as human as possible. If Sam were to ever hunt with another hunter, something he had heard Sam and Jo fantasize about, he would need to know how to hunt without his powers.

“Okay, what’s next son?” 

“I don’t get to hold the gun.” 

“That’s right.” Michael had started training Sam with guns the past year, but he still didn't want Sam firing a gun in a hunting situation. He still needed a bit more training before Michael let him carry a gun. Sam had an iron dagger to deter the ghost, while Michael would be manning the shot gun filled with salt rounds. They continued with the rules for another for another ten minutes until Michael felt that Sam completely understood them; then, they left for the graveyard. 

The graveyard was on the edge of the town, its closest neighbor being a church, so, it was pretty unlikely that anyone would see them. The night was clear, and since they were in such a rural area, the moon and stars gave the two hunters enough light to work by. Michael made Sam start digging up the grave by hand while he kept watch for Alicia. Sam’s angelic strength made him stronger than a normal boy, but he was still pretty small. Michael relented after he had dug about a third of the grave and let him use his telekinesis for the remainder. Sam had shown he knew how to dig a grave by hand and that was what really mattered. 

The ghost didn't show up until the grave was mostly dug. Sam was almost done with the grave when it materialized a few feet in font of Michael, correctly assuming that he was the biggest threat. Sam gave a small start when it appeared, but other than that he remained calm. Michael wasted no time in shooting her full of rock salt, making her disappear. After that incident, Sam increased the speed at which he was lifting dirt out of the grave. Sam was able to finish the grave and cover the bones with salt and lighter fluid before she showed up again. This time though, she made a beeline straight for Sam. 

Sam was startled to see an angry ghost right in front of his face, so he instinctively took a step back and dropped the match he was about to light. The ghost lunged towards him, reaching for his neck with her hands, and, even though it wouldn't do much, Sam threw his hands up as if to ward her off. Though the maneuver failed to ward the ghost off, it did have unexpected results. Both Michael and Sam were shocked as flames flew from little Sammy’s hands into the open grave in front of him. 

The ghost went up in flames, but neither hunter was looking at it. Sammy was staring at his hands in confusion, while Michael was staring at Sammy. Apparently Michael had been wrong about all of Sam’s prepubescent powers having shown themselves. Michael knew that pyrokinesis was one of the more dangerous powers Sam would develop so they would have to work quickly to bring it under control. Once Michael shook himself out of the shock of seeing his son shoot flames out of his hands, he walked over to little Sammy. 

“Come on, son,” he said, putting his hand on Sam’s shoulder. “You did well.” Sam shyly ducked his head and walked back to the car with Michael. He kept silent until they got back to the motel room. Then he piped up with the inevitable questions about his new power. Michael told him what he wanted to know, including the fact that he had to be very careful, and sent him off to bed. It had been a late and exciting night for the young boy. Michael himself spent the night reviewing everything he knew about the ability to create and manipulate fire.

The next morning Michael let Sam sleep in. The boy had had a busy night and he deserved his sleep. Though Sammy didn’t need as much sleep as fully human children, he still liked sleeping as long as possible. Michael feared Sam’s love of sleep would only get worse as he entered his teenage years. Michael renewed the wards they set up in any place they stayed, and left a note for Sam before he left to get breakfast. Though Michael did not need to eat, Sam still did. Besides Michael had been living as a human for nine years and humans ate. Also Michael found he quite liked the human drink of coffee. 

Once back from the diner he had found for food, Michael called Ellen. He had left Anna with her at the Roadhouse thinking Sam would be more focused on the hunt if he didn’t have his little sister with him. Anna had the boy wrapped around her tiny finger. Unlike Sam, Anna was already awake, so Michael talked to his daughter for a little before being handed back to Ellen. He explained that things were going to take a little longer than he had originally anticipated so it would be about a week and a half before he returned rather than the few days he had expected. Michael planned to use the extra week to train Sam with the pyrokinesis. He didn’t want Sam around anyone else until he was sure the nephilim had his fire under control. Ellen made him tell Anna that he would be late himself. She was a little disappointed at first, but it ended up being okay because Jo was going to a birthday party the next week, and Ellen said that Anna could go too. 

When Sam finally woke up, he and Michael left town, heading for a small lake side cabin that Michael knew would be empty at this time of year. It had been haunted a few years ago, and the owners had been so grateful for his help with the ghost that they offered to let him use it whenever he needed to. It was the perfect place to help Sam with his pyrokinesis; small, secluded, and surrounded by water. Sam already had superb control over his other powers, so Michael didn’t doubt that it would take Sam very little time to get this one under control. After all, it was just a matter of controlling and directing different energies, a topic that Michael had made Sam study extensively. It wasn't enough that Sam could control his powers, he also had to understand them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Sammy’s a real hunter now! :) This chapter was a lot of fun to write so please tell me what you think! (Also on a side note, it is still freezing here. They cancelled school on Thursday and Friday cause it was so cold. Not that I minded. :P)


	14. Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam is 9.  
> Dean is 13.  
> Anna is 5.  
> Jo is 7.   
> Adam is almost 2.   
> Also there is mild swearing in this chapter.

It was the beginning of August when what Michael had been trying to avoid for years finally happened; he met the Winchesters. He was stopping in at the Roadhouse for a few days after a  wendigo hunt about two states over. He still wasn’t taking Sam on anything larger than a salt n’ burn, so Michael had left Sam and Anna with Ellen instead of making them stay in a motel room alone for a few days while he trekked through the woods. The kids were up to their usual antics behind the Roadhouse when the Winchesters walked in. Ellen looked up from where she was wiping down a glass while simultaneously giving Michael the advice that he so desperately needed on what a five year old girl needed for her first day of school to wave them over. 

“Mary, John! It’s good to see you.” 

“You too, Ellen. How are Bill and Jo?”

“They’re fine. Bill’s on a hunt right now and Jo’s out back with some friends.” At that Dean turned questioning eyes to his mother. 

“You can go out as long as Ellen’s okay with it and you watch your brother.” At Ellen’s confirmation Dean picked up Adam and went out to say hi to Jo. Even though she was younger than him, he still enjoyed playing with her. 

Meanwhile while Ellen greeted the Winchesters, Michael was trying to get his raging thoughts under control. It had been almost nine years since he had seen Mary, and if anything her soul was even more beautiful than it had been. He could see she that she had been through some hard times though. Both Winchers had; their souls ached for missing their son. It made Michael regret having had to take him away, but he still stuck with his decision. His brothers could still find out about Sam. Sam would make contact with the Winchesters if he wanted to when he could defend himself and them properly. The second child he had seen with the Winchesters was also a surprise. It had never occurred to him that Mary would have more children after she got back into hunting, but apparently she had. It took Michael longer than it should have to realize that it meant that Sam now had another brother.

“Michael.” Michael came out of his daze when he heard Ellen say his name. 

“Sorry, I was lost in thought,” Michael answered with a wry grin that echoed his son’s perfectly. 

“I was asking if you’ve met Mary and John Winchester before.” Michael answered hoping he didn’t sound as shaken as he felt,

“I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure.” John offered his hand to Michael in greeting.

“I’m John and this is my wife, Mary. I think we’ve spoken on the phone before.”

“Right, you were looking for a yellow-eyed demon.” Mary nodded in confirmation. “Sorry, I couldn’t be more of a help. Have you come any further along?” John gave Michael a curious look, while Mary answered.

“Not much. We think he’s the regent of Hell, but that’s all we’ve been able to find.” Michael nodded at the new information. If the yellow-eyed demon was Hell’s regent, the most likely candidate would be Azazel, but Michael couldn’t be sure. Hell’s regency was known to change every few hundred years. Nobody had seen Lilith since a few years after Lucifer’s fall, so Hell’s leadership positions were always shaky at best. No one knew what this regent could be planning. Ellen thankfully saved Michael from having to give a verbal reply to the new information by inquiring why the Winchesters were at the Roadhouse.

“We found a vamp nest about a day’s drive east of here. We need a third person before we take them on. It seems like a pretty large nest from what we’ve seen so far. Caleb’s apparently  taking care of a poltergeist in Maryland, so we were gonna ask if Bill wanted to help out.” Mary finished with wry smile.

“Well, like I said, Bill’s on a hunt right now, and I don’t think he’ll be back for at least a week. There isn’t really any one else in the area right now.” Ellen glanced around the bar as she spoke. There were a few hunters here and there but none that she or the Winchesters knew well enough to hunt with, well except for one.

“Michael, would you be willing to help?” Michael was shocked at the offer, but not as much as John seemed to be. John opened his mouth, probably to protest, but Ellen stopped him in his tracks. “Stop right there John Winchester. I know Michael here and trust me when I say that I would trust this man with my life.” With a look from his wife John shut up. Mary didn’t know why,  but for some reason she felt like she could trust Michael Dangé. It was gut instinct, and Mary had learned through her many years of hunting that she could trust her gut. Besides she had heard both Ellen and Bobby mention Dangé as a friend and as a damn good hunter.

“We’re fine with it,” she said, shooting another look at John. “As long as you are, of course,” she continued, turning her attention to Dangé. Michael knew it was probably a mistake to go with the Winchesters, but there really was no one else in the area, and he didn’t know if he could live with himself if he was the reason the other half of Sam’s family got killed. 

“I’d be happy to help. As long as you can watch Sam and Anna, Ellen?” Michael pretended not to notice Mary’s slight flinch at Sam’s name.

“Of course, I can. I’ll watch both sets of kids for you three.” 

“Dean will help with Adam.” Mary added.

“Really, Mary, Michael. It’s no problem. Jo will love having all the company. Now come say good-bye before y’all leave.”

Thirty minutes later found Michael sitting in the back of the Winchester’s impala. They’d decided taking one car would save time and money, but that didn’t stop Michael from seeing the irony of an angel of the Lord sitting in the back like a child in time out. Sam and Anna had been pretty okay with Michael having to suddenly go on a hunt. His kids had already met Dean and Adam, and, as Michael expected, Sam and Dean had started bonding in just the ten minutes the adults had been talking. Mary and John hadn’t actually met Anna and Sam as they were busy saying good-bye to their boys when Michael had been saying good-bye. He’d noticed the look Mary had given Sam though and knew that she was reminded of her Sammy. Michael was just glad that he had given her no reason to think that Sammy was anything other than his biological son.

John watched the hunter in the back seat through the rear view mirror as he drove. He didn’t particularly like the hunter; he seemed like he was hiding something, but Bobby and Ellen trusted him so he would work with the man. Maybe he was just biased that the man had supposedly been hunting the yellow-eyed demon for years, but hadn’t been able to tell them squat about it. No matter his feelings towards the man though, Michael Dangé had a reputation as one of the best hunters in the business so he was confident he could help them get the job done. The man hadn’t said anything for the half hour they’d been driving, so John put in an AC/DC tape to get rid of the awkward silence in the car. 

Mary chuckled to herself as she heard John put on the music. He had never been the best at navigating social situations. He usually relied on her for that part. She honestly had no idea how he had managed to ask even ask her out. Actually that was a lie, she had found his awkwardness adorable and had done the asking for herself. The man in the back gave a little start when the starting chords to Back in Black came on. He’d probably been thinking about how he’d randomly been roped into hunting with two strangers. Mary couldn’t blame him for being a bit confused. Ellen could have that effect on people. Mary decided that if she was going to be hunting with Dangé, she should get to know the man. So, she turned down the music and struck up a conversation.

“So Michael, how long have you been hunting?” Dangé looked a bit shocked at being addressed, but he answered anyway. 

“About nine years in the US.”

“You’ve hunted elsewhere?”

“My wife and I hunted in France before Sam was born.” Michael stuck to the story he had been using since he first started hunting. “We moved here after she passed.” Mary felt bad for bringing up his wife accidentally, but she was curious about the hunter.

“Sam is your son, right? Is the little redheaded girl yours too?” Mary couldn’t help but notice that Michael’s Sam was about the same age as her Sammy. She wondered if they were at all similar.

“Yes. Her name is Anna. What about your two boys?” Mary felt the familiar pang at the remembrance that Sammy was missing, but answered anyway.

“Dean is the oldest; he’s 13. And Adam will be 2 in September.” 

“I’m sure Dean is helpful with Adam when you hunt then.”

“He is,” Mary replied, “but we actually work from a home base during the school year, so that makes hunting a lot easier for everyone.” Mary finished with a glance at John. They loved having the bunker to operate out of, but at the end of the last school year they had noticed that all three older Winchesters were getting a bit restless with constantly staying in one place. It hadn’t taken much for them to decide to hunt on the road like they had done before the bunker during the summer then return to Lebanon in time for Dean to start school.

Michael didn’t exactly know how to reply to Mary. It was like with all the thinking he was doing to make sure he didn’t tell the Winchesters anything, he had forgotten the finer points of human social interaction that he had learned in the past few years. Luckily though, Michael was saved from having to reply by John pulling into a gas station and gruffly saying that if he needed to use the bathroom now would be the time to do so. Even through Michael had no need for such human functions, he was quick to escape the awkward tension in the black car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay Guys. So that’s the chapter everyone’s been looking forward to! It was a lot of fun thinking about how Michael would interact with the two Winchester seniors. Next week will be the kids’ pov of this chapter so look forward to that. Anyway please please please comment! Feedback is always helpful to me!


	15. Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam is 9.  
> Dean is 13.  
> Anna is 5.  
> Jo is 7.   
> Adam is almost 2.

****Sam had just collapsed on the ground with Anna and Jo after a particularly rambunctious game of tag, when he felt two new people approaching. He looked up to find an older boy running onto the back porch holding a toddler. The new boy stopped short when he saw that Jo wasn’t alone. Sam could tell that the boy was a bit confused as to who he was. Their eyes locked for a second, and Sam immediately liked him. He didn’t know why but he instinctively felt safe with the newcomer. It was strange but Sam’s dad had told him to trust his instincts, so he did. By this time, Jo had seen the newcomers and had gotten up to give the big boy a hug.

“Dean! It’s good to see you again!” Sam and Anna awkwardly stood in the background while Jo caught up with her friend. Sam remembered who Dean was; he was the other hunter’s kid that Jo always told him about. Apparently he was awesome. Eventually Jo realized that Sam was feeling a bit awkward, so she introduced the two families. 

“Dean this is Sam Dangé. His dad’s a hunter too. He already let Sam go on his first hunt.” Dean gave a slow whistle at the new information.

“Cool man. My mom won’t let me hunt till I’m sixteen.” Sam smiled back at him, but he had still felt the small flash of sadness from Dean when he’d heard the name Sam. Sammy wondered why that was, but knew it wasn’t any of his business to pry. 

“My dad just wants me to know how to defend myself.” Sam shrugged.

“My parents too. They just won’t let me actually hunt yet. You’ll have to tell me all about it. God, I wish my parents would let me on a hunt.” Sam smiled again, something about Dean just radiated coolness. Just then he turned around when Anna laughed. Somehow when the older children were talking the toddler had made his way from hiding behind Dean over towards Anna, who was now joyfully playing peek-a-boo with the boy. 

“Sorry about that, this is Adam,” Dean laughed.

“It’s okay. I like playing with him. I’m Anna.” Anna smiled shyly as she spoke. She was a bit intimidated by the older boy. He was so much bigger than her. Adam just laughed and continued to ask Anna to play with him, which she did. 

With Anna entraining his little brother Dean decided he wanted to get to know the other boy better. He was the same age as his Sammy which of course made him wonder how his Sammy was, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to be friends with the boy. It wasn’t often that Dean got to be around other children raised in the hunting lifestyle, and Dean was sure that he and Sam Dangé would be fast friends. Jo took it upon herself to start the conversation.

“Sammy, tell Dean about the hunts you’ve gone on! Sam’s dad started taking him on hunts this summer. You’re so lucky.” Dean flinched slightly at the nickname. He knew he’d never be able to call this Sam Sammy. It just hit too close to home. Still, he liked the kid, and he wanted to hear about the hunts he’d been on.

“Yeah, Kid. How’d you convince your dad to let you hunt?” Sam blushed at all the attention. 

“I don’t know. It just kinda happened. I guess he thought I was ready. Anyway he doesn’t let me come on anything super hard. Just a salt n’ burn here and there.”

“Still,” Dean sighed, “that’s more than my parents let me do. All I get is training and sometimes they let me research. Not that I really like research.” Dean made a face at the image of spending hours among dusty books. He had enough of that at school thank you very much. 

“I dunno,” Sam mumbled, “I kinda like research. It’s interesting.” 

“Nerd,” Dean coughed. He didn’t know why he felt comfortable enough with the new kid to engage in friendly banter, but he did anyway. The kid looked shocked for a moment, but he was quick enough to smile and return it.

“Jerk.” Dean laughed just as Ellen and his parents came onto the porch along with a stranger. 

“Sammy, Anna,” the stranger started, “These two need my help on a hunt so you're going to be staying with Aunt Ellen for a few days, okay?” Dean assumed that meant that the man was Sam and Anna’s father. Mr. Dangé took his kids to the side to say good-bye, while Dean followed his parents to the edge of the porch so they too could have some privacy for their good byes.

“You be good, okay Dean?”

“I know Mom. I’m thirteen now. I’ve done this before.” Dean made a face that very obviously said ‘I’m too old for this’ when his father ruffled his hair.

“We know, son. Just watch out for your brother.” Dean rolled his eyes. 

“I’m not a kid you know.” Mary sighed,

“We know, honey. We just worry. Stay safe please.” Dean felt a bit bad about his attitude. Of course his parents were worried, they always worried. Especially with what had happened to Sammy. Heck Dean worried about Adam the same way his parents worried about him. Dean leaned in to give his mom a hug.

“You too, Mom.” Dean gave his dad a hug next, while Adam clasped onto his mom.

“Don’t worry about us son. Apparently Michael Dangé,” his dad inclined his head towards the man in question, “is one of the best hunters there is. We’ll be fine.” His parents got up to go, as they saw Michael too was making his way back to them. Little Adam ran up for one more hug before his mom left.

“Bye bye, Mama!”

“Love you, baby, but I have to go now.” Adam nodded as seriously as a toddler could and let his mom go. All five children watched as the three adults drove off in the big black muscle car before heading back to the yard to occupy themselves before dinner. 

Dean spent the hours between his parents’ departure and dinner getting to know the new boy. Jo had mentioned another hunter’s kid to him before in passing but he’d never really thought about the other boy. After meeting Sam though, Dean was starting to think that Jo had been on the right track when she said that they would all be a hunting team when they grew up. He and Sam got along really well. Dean had no problem imagining himself hunting with the younger boy. Already he and Sam had teamed up in a boys versus girls game of frisbee and we’re able to beat the girls because of the way they just seemed to know each other’s style. By the time Ellen called them in for dinner. Dean was throwing his arm around Sam and laughing with him as if he’d known the boy for years rather than a few hours.

Sam blushed as the older boy threw his arm around him. It was  new experience for him. Sam was great at making friends at school, but he had never really had much contact with the older students. And he had never really stayed long enough anywhere to develop a close friendship. Dean was a new experience for him. Sam’s empathy showed him that the older boy was already protective of him and thought of him as a friend. It was bit weird for Sam. It wasn’t that he didn’t like it, he most definitely did, it was just that Sam was used to being the older one who took care of his sister and Jo. Abruptly having Dean there to take over that role, even if it was just for a day at the roadhouse was a bit disconcerting. Sam still liked it though. He wondered if his dad would work with the Winchesters again after this. His dad didn’t usually work with other hunters, and he was really careful of those he trusted, but Sam would like to see Dean again after this week. 

He would even like to see Adam again. Though he had a hard time believing it, the toddler was even more energetic than Anna had been at that age. Adam had spent the hour after his parents had left running around tiring out his older brother and all the other children except Anna. Adam really liked Anna so he slowed down for her and played peek-a-boo again. Anna seemed to like the role reversal and being the big sister for once. After a while Ellen had come out and gotten Adam for his nap. By that time he had needed one, as his eyes were visibly drooping as he played with Anna.

After dinner Ellen put Adam to bed, while the older children were allowed to watch some television. Once Adam was asleep Ellen came back to herd them all into the bar area, as she was opening for the night. She set the four of them up at an out of the way table in the back with board games. It was about two hours later that Ellen decided it was time for the girls to go bed as well. Since the boys were a bit older, and currently engaged in an animated discussion about their favorite Marvel hero, Ellen decided to let the boys stay up. It wasn’t like they had school the next morning.

“It’s time for bed, girls.” Anna, the little angel she was, didn’t protest. That was her own daughter of course,

“But mom, Dean doesn’t have to go to bed.” 

“Dean is thirteen years old.”

“But…”

“Not another word, Joanna Beth.” Jo may have been a spirited child, but even she knew not to fight with Ellen when she used that tone of voice.

“Yes, mom.” She replied, hanging her head. 

“Well, come on then.” She led the girls upstairs to bed. The boys decided to tag along to say good night before heading back down to the bar to go “hunter watching” as she heard Dean not so subtly whisper to Sam. 

“So,” Ellen started as she reached Jo’s room, “With all of you here, sleeping arrangements will be a bit tight. Adam is already in the old nursery, and Anna can share with Jo, so you boys can take the guest room okay?” All four children nodded their assent to the plan. 

Dean was actually kind of excited about the sleeping arrangements. Though he loved his little brother, he always had to be super quiet whenever he shared a room with Adam. Now sharing a room with Sam, they would be able to talk at night, and he really wanted to get to know the younger boy better. Dean loved Jo like a sister, and the little girl Anna was pretty cool too, but the whole day Dean had wanted to get some time just to speak with Sam. He hadn’t actually ever met another hunter’s son before other than his cousins. And his cousins didn’t count seeing that one, he hadn’t seen them in years and two, they were kinda mean. Tonight would be like a sleepover for the two of them, and Dean was looking forward to it. Dean had been to one sleepover the previous year at a friend’s house in Lebanon. He had had a lot of fun, but had had to lie a lot about his family and past. Dean knew that with Sam they could be honest with each other, and Dean was excited to share stories about growing up a hunter. 

As Sam said good night to Anna, he was partially distracted by having to share a room with Dean. He had mixed feelings about it. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Dean, he actually really liked the older boy, he was just nervous about having to hide his angel heritage from him. Sam had been hiding his wings all day, and they were starting to itch. Usually when they stayed with Ellen or Bobby he and Anna would share a room so he could let the extra appendages out for the night. Of course Anna knew about them. Their dad was teaching Anna everything he was teaching Sam about angels, even if she didn’t have any powers of her own. 

Now though he would have to keep them hidden till his dad got back. It was going to be a long few days. He was probably going to have to lock himself in the bathroom at some point so he could groom them. There was no point distressing over things he couldn’t change though. In fact, other than the slight problem of his wings, Sam found himself looking forward to the idea of having more time to get to know Dean. As Sam followed Dean back downstairs to listen to hunting stories, Sam thought that the next few days were going to be pretty good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you go! Sam and Dean have officially met for the first time, and neither of them know they’re related… Please tell me what you think of their meeting! Questions and comments are always eagerly read! :)


	16. Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The kids are the same ages they were in the previous chapter.

Michael and the Winchesters arrived in the vamp infected town at around two in the morning. Apparently with no kids around, John didn’t really see a reason to stop. Mary had dozed off a while ago, so Michael and John had spent the last few hours in a tense silence, occasionally making awkward eye contact through the rear view mirror. The night clerk at the motel looked as if three adults arriving in the middle of the night in a classic black car was the most exciting thing that had happened to him in the past week. Sadly though, he couldn’t really appreciate the excitement as he was half asleep. Michael and the Winchesters ended up with rooms next to each other, and Mary, who had woken when they pulled into the motel, made plans with Michael to meet up again for breakfast in the morning. 

Breakfast was altogether an uneventful affair. Apparently neither John nor Mary were morning people, so Michael remained silent and drank his coffee until the two started to seem less likely to rip his head off for starting a conversation. After breakfast, John drove the impala to where he and Mary had established the nest to be located. They had already done the majority of the research for the hunt, and really only needed Michael for the actual killing part. Though great hunters, Mary and John knew never to go after a vamp nest with only two people. The nest seemed pretty large, but they didn’t have an actual number. The three hunters decided to spend the day and early evening watching the nest to get a more detailed number and so Michael could get aquatinted with the area around the abandoned house the nest was using as headquarters. 

As stakeouts tended to be, the remainder of the day was quite boring. The only thing that actually happened was Mary and Michael walking to a diner a few streets over to grab lunch for everyone around one. Mary, unpredictably, spent a good while in the diner trying to get Michael to order something more substantial than a salad. Apparently, her mothering instincts carried over to single dads as well. The majority of the day was spent by Michael getting to know the Winchesters as there was little else to do in the car other than talk. Of course, he knew Mary fairly well since she had been his vessel, but it had been nine years and she had changed. Besides, Mary certainly didn’t remember Michael and he wasn’t going to do anything to remind her of him. 

The majority of talk was about hunting. Both the Winchesters and Michael had a variety of hunts to talk about from funny ones to ones that were downright terrifying. Michael was amused to hear that once Mary had been able to convince the ghost of a teenage boy who had been hurting the people who bullied him to move on just by giving him a firm talking to. This story just reinforced the Michael’s idea that, angel or not, he did not want to get on Mary Winchester’s bad side. Michael retaliated by telling the story of how a few years ago a werewolf he had been hunting had tried to seduce him in order to get away cleanly. Both Mary and John thought the idea of  Michael trying to decline her advances while also trying to shoot her hilarious. 

Inevitably though, after the topic of hunting had been exhausted, talk in the big black car turned to that of their kids. Though he was very careful of what he said to make sure the Winchesters would have no suspicions of Sammy’s real origins, Michael was willing and honestly a little eager to talk about Sam and Anna. Michael wanted Mary to know at least a little of who her son was growing up to be, even if she didn’t know he was her son. Somehow, Michael and the Winchesters ended up on the topic of hunting with their kids. 

“Dean’s really eager to start hunting. We started training him a few years ago, and honestly, it looks as if he’s going to be a great hunter.” Mary laughed as she continued, “I certainly was never so enthusiastic to hunt at thirteen.” John continued when Mary was done. By this point in the day, John had started to warm up to Michael but he still wasn’t as familiar with him as Mary was.

“Mary hasn’t let him on a hunt yet though.” Mary was quick to retaliate in what seemed to Michael to be an old argument. 

“We’re not taking him on a hunt until he’s sixteen. That’s the way it’s always been in my family, dear.” Michael decided to intervene before the two actually started arguing.

“I’m training Sam too. He’s actually shown a real gift for researching so far.” Michael decided that in light of Mary and John’s recent debate he would not be mentioning how he had already taken Sammy on a few salt n’ burns. Besides, Michael agreed with Mary. If Sam wasn’t half angel, Michael would never have taken him on a hunt till he was much older. Luckily Michael’s diversion tactic seemed to work.

“We’ve let Dean help with the research before. It serves as really good lore training, you know? Dean hates it though. That’s probably more due to his aversion to school and books though. Dean just can’t keep still. Gets that from his dad I guess.” With the smile Mary gave John, Michael could see that she’d already forgiven him for their previous spat. 

“What can I say, books never really caught my attention, I always had to do something,” John replied with a small laugh.

“Sammy loves learning and books. Often times I have to get him to stop reading so he can focus on other things. Not that I’m complaining though. He does really well in school because of it, and I couldn’t be more proud.” Mary laughed at that.

“Maybe he can teach Dean a thing or two about liking school. What about your daughter, Anna? Does she like school?” 

“I think she will. She’s starting kindergarden in September and so far she’s liked the preschools and daycares I’ve put her in if I’m on a hunt.”

“Does she know about hunting then?”

“Yes. It would be hard to keep it from her with just the three of us, I make sure that she knows I will never let anything hurt her though. She hasn’t taken much interest in hunting to be honest. Not that I mind, she will never have to hunt if she doesn’t want to.” Mary nodded her assent in the front seat. 

“That’s what I’ve told Dean too. Not that I think he won’t hunt. Sometimes I think he’s too eager.” Mary ended her sentence with a sigh. 

By that time the sun had started to set, and the three hunters abandoned their conversation in order to watch as the vamps started to move around. They watched the vamps come and go from the abandoned house until about one in the morning. By that time they were pretty sure they had an accurate count on the vamps. It was a medium sized nest with about eleven vamps total. The three of them would hopefully be able to handle them all with little difficulty. Once they had a vamp count they headed back to the motel to get a good night’s sleep as they were planning on attacking around noon the next day and needed to be well rested. 

The next morning they met around ten to discuss their game plan. It didn’t take long; in Michael’s experience the simplest plans were the ones that worked the best. All in all, the hunt was kind of anticlimactic. The Winchester snuck into the the vamps’ lair around the front and Michael took the back. Since it was the middle of the day, the vamps were all asleep and between the three hunters they were able to kill more than half of them before the the other vamps even realized they were under attack. It was short work for the three of them to take care of the remaining vamps. The only problem that Michael really encountered was making sure to keep his speed and strength at human levels while in the Winchester’s presence. 

When they got back to the motel it was too late in the afternoon to make it back to The Roadhouse at a reasonable hour, so the trio decided to leave in the morning, even though all three of them missed their respective children. Michael was glad that he had the chance to get to know how Mary and John were doing after so many years. Mary and John invited him to go out for a celebratory drink after they had washed up. Since Michael had observed that this was a tradition among hunters, he agreed even though it took a significant amount of alcohol to render him intoxicated. Michael actually found the night quite enjoyable. He learned to play the popular bar game pool by watching John and Mary. Both husband and wife seemed quite proficient at the game. As the night wore on, he slowly started to emulate John’s behavior as he ingested more alcohol. Eventually Mary decided that they had both had enough to drink and walked them back to the motel. The next morning they drove the Impala back to the Roadhouse to pick up Sam, Anna, Dean, and Adam.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So guys Michael and the Winchesters have completed one hunt together without any mishaps… Anyway next week it’s back to see how the kids are getting along at The Roadhouse. So, please tell me what you think!


	17. Seventeen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam is 9.  
> Dean is 13.  
> Anna is 5.  
> Jo is 7.  
> Adam is almost 2.

Sam and Dean slept late the morning after they first met. They had stayed up late the previous night comparing stories of being hunters’ kids. Sam had thought the bunker was the coolest thing ever. Dean had told him every detail and Sam really wanted to see it. Dean had spent almost an hour talking about the garage and the old cars and motorcycles in it. Sam wasn’t that interested in cars, but he thought the motorcycles seemed pretty cool. Sam had once heard a hunter in the Roadhouse say that motorcycling felt like you were flying down the road, and since then Sam had wanted to try it when he was old enough. Sam’s flight feathers still wouldn't come in for another few years, and he couldn’t wait to fly. 

Sam was most interested in the library though. According to Dean it was huge and held books on every supernatural creature he had ever heard of and even some books on the ones he hadn’t. Sam knew he could spend hours in a library like that. He also wondered if there were any books on angels. Sam was curious to know what humans knew about angels. And if he was honest with himself, he wanted to see if there was anything his dad hadn’t told him. Sam knew his dad kept information from him to protect him or something silly like that. Sometimes Sam didn’t really get adults. He knew that his dad had told him anything really important like about Heaven’s politics and the demon blood, but Sam also knew there was stuff he didn’t know. 

Like about his mom, Sam had asked but all his dad had told him was that he was human and that they’d had to leave to keep her safe. Which obviously Sam understood; there were angels and demons after him and his dad, and it was dangerous. Personally though Sam thought his dad didn't talk about his mom because he missed her. From what he’d managed to weasel out of his dad, his mom had had a beautiful soul. Sam also thought that was why his dad didn’t talk much about Heaven outside of politics. Sam knew that Heaven was currently run by his Uncle Raphael and that his Uncle Gabriel had left Heaven long before his dad had, but he’d didn’t really know much about his angelic family other than names and how Heaven worked. After getting Anna for a little sister Sam thought he understood; his dad really missed his little brothers.

All in all, Sam just really wanted to see Dean’s bunker. He didn’t really think that would happen any time soon though. His dad was pretty obsessive about keeping him and Anna safe. He’d have to do at least a few more hunts with the Winchesters before he even considered it. And his dad was very picky about who he hunted with. He usually didn’t even hunt with a partner. In the past nine years, the only other hunters Michael trusted enough for Sam and Anna to get to know were the Harvelle’s, Bobby, and a man named Joshua; though they had only met Joshua like once. He sighed at the thought. It was probably silly dreaming anyway. If the bunker really was as well warded as Dean said it was, there were probably some angel wards on it as well.

“Sam? Hey, Sam.” Sammy emerged from his thoughts to find Dean waving a handing front of his face.

“Sorry, I was lost in though I guess,” Sam gave a small shrug to accompany his answer.

“Thinking?” Dean put a hand on his heart, acting astonished. “But it’s summer! You’re not supposed to think in summer.”

“Yeah right,” Sam replied, giving Dean a slight push as he got up. “Let’s go see if Ellen left us any breakfast.”

“Yeah, sure. Nerd.” Dean coughed.

“Jerk.”

As it turned out the boys had, in fact, missed breakfast. It was okay though, because Ellen had left some of the leftover bacon and pancakes on the table with instructions on how to heat them up. Dean tried to sneak himself a coffee but Ellen must have had a young teen radar, since she was there taking the mug out of his hand in an instant. Apparently thirteen was too young for coffee consumption. She sent the two boys off after that to find the girls. Sam and Dean found Anna and Jo in the nursery with Adam. Anna was reading a story book to Adam, while Jo was acting it out for him. Dean was amazed that the two were able to keep his energetic little brother still, and Sam was just proud that Anna’s reading was so good. Sam had spent hours in the back of the car with his sister teaching her to read and write. Seeing that the girls were sufficiently occupied, the boys decided to continue their lazy morning by promptly claiming the television. Dean spent awhile channel surfing until he came upon an action movie with lots of guns and a few explosions. Sam had never actually seen _Die Hard_ but Dean said it was great so he settled into watch. 

Two hours later, when the credits were rolling down the screen, Sam concluded that Dean was right. _Die Hard_ was a good movie. The girls came in just as they were shutting off the TV with the news that lunch was ready. As two growing boys, Sam and Dean were always hungry so the two were quick to follow Anna and Jo to the kitchen. Ellen was already at the table trying to get Adam to eat some soft solids and some baby mush. It didn’t look very appetizing to Sam, but Adam seemed to like it. Ellen was a good cook, so all the kids ate with gusto and Dean even went back for seconds. After everyone had finally had enough to eat the four older kids took Adam to play outside again. 

The rest of the day was much the same as the previous one, with the kids playing various outdoor games while simultaneously being tired out by Adam until Ellen put him down for his nap. That night Anna and Jo decided to go hang out in Jo’s room for the evening instead of staying down in the bar like they had previously. Apparently they had some “girl talk” to discuss. Neither Sam nor Dean knew what that meant, but they were also pretty sure they didn't want to know. The boys settled down at the table they were at the previous night with a deck of cards. Dean was determined to teach the younger boy poker.They were about an hour into the lesson when Dean spotted a hunter walk into the bar whom his parents had worked with before.

“Hey Sam, let’s go say hi to Josh. He usually has the best hunting stories. One time he told me about how he almost lost his leg to crazy rougarou!”

“Joshua is here? I’ve met him a few times. He calls dad for research and translations and stuff.”

“Great! Then let’s go say hi.” Dean practically pulled Sam over to the table where the hunter had settled.

“Dean Winchester, is that you?” The middle aged hunter looked up as the two children approached him. “And little Sammy Dangé too. What are you two doin’ here?” Dean, always eager to talk to hunters, replied before Sam could even open his mouth. 

“Our parents have a hunt together,” Dean smiled proudly, “and Sam and I are staying with Aunt Ellen.” 

“They’re hunting vampires,” Sam chimed in a bit shyly. 

“Really, I didn’t know your parents knew each other.”

“Mom and Dad found a vamp nest, and they came here to get another person, but there was only Sam’s dad here, so Ellen said he should go,” Dean spoke quickly barely stopping to take a breath, as Sam nodded assuredly next to him. “But that doesn’t matter! I wanna hear about the hunts you’ve gone on!” 

Joshua laughed goodheartedly at Dean’s enthusiasm, and started telling the boys about his latest hunt. Josh liked the Winchester kid, and was always willing to share. The Dangé boy was being quiet, but from what Josh had heard, that was par for course for him. That didn’t mean that the kid wouldn’t be a good hunter someday though. In fact, with Michael Dangé for a father, Joshua would be surprised if the boy didn’t end up as one of the best in the business. Josh smiled at the younger boy as he told the two about a swamp monster in Florida. Both boys were captivated. He had only met Sam once or twice, but he’d known Dean for a few years, and he could tell that the two hunters-in-training were pretty similar for all their outward differences. Eventually Ellen hustled them upstairs saying that even in summer they had to get some sleep, and Josh finished his beer in a strangely lacking silence. 

The next day passed much the same for the five children in Ellen’s care. They watched an abhorrent amount of television until Ellen made them go outside. Which was when they got so dirty that Ellen refused to let them inside until they had at least hosed off. All in all, Sam thought his time with the Winchester brothers would probably be the highlight of the summer. Sam had never before made such a good friend so quickly. Even though it was unlikely, he hoped he would see Dean again. The two boys had even done a little training together. Ellen obviously wouldn't let them practice with guns but they did wrestle a bit. 

The two were actually pretty evenly matched, though Dean won most of the time. Still, Dean was impressed at how well Michael Dangé had trained his son. Dean was older though and was able to teach Sam quite a few new holds and such. Dean thought the best part was practicing knife fighting. They didn’t actually have knives of course, but they had cut some sticks to the right lengths. Dean had learned some knife skills, but both his parents tended to lean towards guns when hunting so that was what he had trained with the most. Sam, though, apparently preferred blades to guns, and some of the stuff he taught Dean was just plain wicked. His parents got back the next day, and he was sad to say good-bye to Sam. He was pretty sure that Sam would miss him too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there ends the boys first meeting. I must admit I’m not actually sure what 9 and 13 year old boys do during summer vacation so my brother told me that mostly they’d play outside and watch action movies… So yeah. Also I love Die Hard and it kinda seems like the type of movie Dean would love. Anyway, I may or may not be able to post next week because we are going away for spring break (YAY! No School!) and I’m not sure if I will have wifi… I will try to get the next chapter up when I can though. Anyway, please tell me your thoughts and questions.


	18. Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam is 9.  
> Anna is 5.

Meeting the Winchesters did end up being the highlight of Sam’s summer that year. As soon as he had gotten back from the hunt, Sam and Anna had wasted no time in telling Michael about all the fun they had had. Anna was especially talkative of little Adam and how Ellen had let her help take care of him. Sam told Michael about Dean and what good friends they had become.  Michael didn’t offer much in return about his hunt with the Winchester Patriarchs, only saying that it had went well. When Michael said this Sam got the feeling that his father didn’t really like the Winchesters and was a bit weary of them, but Sam had no idea why he felt that way. No matter the reason though, Sam got the feeling that they wouldn’t be seeing the Winchester family for a while. Anna though had not picked up on this and asked her father if they would be seeing the Winchesters again. Their father’s responses was a uncharacteristically tight lipped smile and a quick “I don’t know, sweetie.” Thankfully Michael was saved from having elaborate as to why when Anna was distracted by some horses they were passing, as horses were her favorite animal. Michael noticed Sam was watching him from the rear view mirror and sighed. He knew Sam really liked Dean, but he wasn’t yet ready to tell his son about his history with the Winchester family.

The adventures at the Roadhouse may have been Sam’s highlight of the summer, but as much has Anna had liked playing with little Adam her summer experiences were completely eclipsed by a late surprise birthday present from Michael. Michael had been taking Sam on a routine salt ’n burn in Florida when he decided that the kids deserved an impromptu vacation. As such, he promptly won the father of the year award as given by Anna by deciding to take the children to disney world for a few days. It was mid august and school in most places would be starting at the end of the month, so Michael thought he would give the kids something fun to talk about wherever they settled for the first few months of the year. Anna of course was completely ecstatic as Disney was one of her favorite things in the world. She especially loved the princess movies and Michael was sure that if Hell ever heard some of the songs he had constantly had to listen to on repeat, they would soon develop a new torture method.

Still though, Anna was through the roof with excitement, and even more so when she heard that Michael had signed them up for breakfast with the princesses. When she heard this, Anna had given Michael one of the largest tackle hugs he had received in a while, not that it did much since he was quite a bit bigger than the five year old, and couldn’t keep up with the constant rapid thank you’s from the little girl. The morning of the breakfast Anna had to look perfect in order to meet her favorite princess, who was apparently Ariel as Anna proclaimed,

“Cause her hair’s like mine and I like to swim too!”

“That’s great, Princess,” Anna giggled at the nickname as her father picked her up, “Let’s get you ready, okay?” Anna nodded while continuing to giggle.

The reason for her giggling was soon discovered as it appeared that she had known that taming her crazy mane would be too much for her father. Eventually Michael gave up and let Sam do his daughter’s hair. He had no idea why he had even attempted it in the first place since according to Anna only Sam knew how to do it just right. When everything was eventually perfect, the family of three headed out to have breakfast with the princesses. Needless to say Anna thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread, while Sam not so much. Sam was a bit out of his element at the breakfast, while Michael received quite a few supportive glances from other mothers. Never-the-less, Sam did his duty as the awesome older brother and acted just as enthusiastic for his sister. Michael appreciated the gesture since Sam was not a princess fan, and took him to Space Mountain immediately after the breakfast. Space Mountain was Sam’s favorite ride in the park they soon discovered, which made sense since roller coasters had always been Sam’s favorite.

After three Disney filled days, Michael decided there was little the small family had yet to explore in the park and instead took his two children to the beach. They were lucky enough to find a sparsely populated strip of sand, a miracle in itself since Florida beaches were aways crowded, and proceeded to do all a family should do during a day at the beach. Sam and Anna played ‘don’t let the water touch your feet’ and jumped over waves, and Michael actually went swimming with the two. Anna was still young enough that he wanted to be in the water with her if she decided to go any deeper than her knees. In the water, Sam enthusiastically showed Michael how he could body surf, and Anna squealed each time that Michael lifted her above an oncoming wave. Back on land Sam helped Anna build a sand castle for the little hermit crabs she found scuttling around on the shoreline. Sam soon found that they could race the crabs by lining them up on the beach with the first crab to reach the water winning. Sam ended up being really good at picking the winning crab. When Anna tired of the crabs, Michael helped her to fulfill her wish of being just like her favorite princess by turning her into a mermaid. Or rather, Anna lay down on the beach and Michael piled sand on to her legs which he shaped like a tail. Sam, of course, took pictures. 

Sam and Anna loved the beach so much that Michael actually took them back a second day, but after that they had to leave. The school year was starting soon, and Michael wanted to find a town central to a few hunts to settle down in for the next few months. After all, Anna was starting kindergarden, and he didn’t want to leave a few weeks into her first school experience. Michael quickly decided on Marlborough, Massachusetts. Bobby had told him that somebody needed to get up to the New England area since no hunter had been there in a few months, a fact that was blatantly obvious to anyone who knew what to look for. With just a primary glance at the news in the area Michael was able to identify at least three prospective hunts. Marlborough worked since apparently it was the crossroads for a few major roadways, not to mention had a pretty good school system for Sam and Anna. 

Anna’s first day of school was as chaotic as Michael expected it to be. Anna was a very outgoing child, but she was still nervous about going to school. Luckily, Michael had Sam to help him out. Sam was an old hand at starting at a new school, and he was quick to ease any fears his sister had.

“Don’t worry Anna. Everyone’s scared on the first day. You’ll see. It’ll be fine. You're gonna make friends in no time.”

“But,” Anna interrupted, “What am I supposed to do?” Sam sighed. He’d probably been over the inner workings of kindergarden with his sister about a hundred times in the past few days.

“Trust me. All you have to do is listen to the teacher. It’s everyone’s first day so no one else will know what’s happening either. Just play with the other kids like you do with Jo and me and it’ll be fine, okay?” Anna nodded, then grinned.

“But not exactly like I am with you and Jo, right?” She said cheekily, “I’m not supposed to talk about hunting werewolves with them am I?” Michael knew that that innocent smile was going to get both of them in trouble in the future. He felt that it was probably time for him to jump into the conversation.

“No, you’re not, princess. But you already knew that didn’t you.” Michael added a stern look for emphasis.

“I know Daddy!” Anna laughed, “I was just teasing!” Michael couldn’t resist her toothy smile and promptly started a tickle fight. He may have been an archangel, but nobody could resist the little girl. A fact soon proven true when Sam quickly joined the fight. After a few minutes Michael surrendered under the combined onslaught of both his children.

“Alright, Alright! I give up!” Michael sat up and took a good look at both his children. “Anna it looks like your hair’s come lose. You’d better hurry to fix it. We have to leave in fifteen minutes.” Anna ran to get her hairbrush from the bathroom and settled on the floor in front of her brother. Michael hadn’t even attempted to do her hair today. She wanted something called a french braid for her first day. Michael had no idea what that was, but it looked complicated. Michael didn’t know how Sam had learned how to make one, though he had his suspicions that Jo had something to do with it. Soon enough though, Anna’s hair was again hanging in a neat plait down her back, and the trio was ready to leave for Sam and Anna’s new school.

Anna’s first day of school went exactly as Michael was expecting it to, that is to say, without any problems what so ever. Anna loved her teacher, Miss Anhert, and quickly made lots of friends in her class. Sam too was doing well. His teacher was nice, he made quite a few friends, and was top of his class. Though, Sam did confess to Michael that he was kind of bored since he already knew most of what they were learning from his private studying with Michael. Time moved quickly and before Michael realized it they had been in Marlborough for almost a month and a half. He had already taken care of three hunts in the area, and was currently looking for more. He’d have to go a bit farther away than he had been, but from what he was finding it looked like they could continue to stay in Marlborough for at least another three months. Sam and Anna would be happy to hear that since it meant they would most likely be able to stay until the end of the first semester. 

It was about then that Michael received a call from Sam’s 4th grade teacher. Michael was surprised to say the least. He hardly ever got calls about Sam from the school. Sam was a great student and never really had any problems with bullies. It was a bit surprising since Sam was always the new kid, but everyone just seemed to like Sam. Anna though, he had already received one phone call home about. Apparently she had tried to lead the other kindergardeners in a revolt against the ‘mean’ first graders. Michael could already tell that it was going to be an interesting next few years with her. Michael needn’t have worried about Sam though, as it turned out his teacher was not calling about any misbehavior, but about another matter entirely. 

He felt that Sam would likely benefit from being moved up a grade. Michael was not surprised as this was not the first time Sam’s teachers had suggested it, but he had declined on the basis that he wanted Sam with his own age group. This time though, Michael actually considered it. Sam was older now, and he did so well making friends that Michael didn’t think that would be a problem. Besides if Sam did encounter bullies for being younger, Michael knew that his son could defend himself both physically and verbally from ten year olds. Also, Sam had expressed boredom in his classes this year. Michael wanted Sam to be interested in school, so in the end it really seemed like he didn’t really have much of a choice. Especially when Sam said he wanted to move up a grade. So Michael called the teacher up with an affirmative answer and started on the paperwork to move Sam up.

After a month of Sam being in 5th grade, Michael knew he had made the right choice. Sam had again made friends, and was apparently a lot more engaged in class. He had had trouble with one bully, but had soon sorted that out. The one thing was that Sam was now actually at a different school than Anna since 5th graders in Marlborough started at the middle school, but it wasn’t to much of a problem. Sam simply took the bus home instead of being picked up with Anna. All in all, Michael knew that both of his kids were set up to have a great school year.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I’m back from vacation! It was warm, and I’m now tan. So with both kids in school Michael now has more free time… He probably uses it for hunting stuff. Also most of the beach stuff comes from what my siblings and I used to do at the beach. And I actually have no idea how one would move up a grade. It is probably a lot more complicated than I wrote, but it needed to be relatively simple for the story. Anyway please tell me how you liked this chapter! And ask me any questions you have! (I do my best to answer any questions I get. :D) Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Easter! (If you celebrate Easter. If you don’t I hope you had a great day anyway. ;P)


	19. Nineteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dean is 13/14.  
> Adam is 2/3.

Dean didn’t have a lot of time to think about Sam Dangé in the months after they had met. Dean had loved the kid and hoped they would meet again, but things started to get really busy. After leaving the Roadhouse, his parents had immediately found a hunt in Oregon so they made long drive up from Nebraska. Dean spent the majority of the time trying to keep Adam amused. Dean wasn’t allowed to participate in the hunt since he apparently wasn’t old enough. he really hated that rule. His parents had been teaching him about hunting for years and he was sure he was ready. Instead he was stuck watching his little brother. At least he wasn’t in a horribly small town so he could at least do some stuff. There was a pretty cool park down the road from the motel. It wasn’t just the standard swings and a slide, it had a whole wooden castle structure to play in. Still though, Dean spent his fair amount of time moping about not being aloud to hunt. Especially since he knew Sam was allowed to hunt, and Sam was a few years younger than him. Now Dean was stuck in the motel room with Adam at night while his parents took care of a ghost in an supposedly haunted amusement park. They got to sneak into an amusement park at night, and it would be an understatement to say that Dean was only a little jealous and resentful about it.

Dean calmed down once the hunt was over though. He knew his parents were only trying to protect him. Soon they were on their way to the next hunt, which was in a big city so Dean was excited. He liked seeing new places when they traveled for hunting and he had never seen San Francisco before. His parents even took a day off after the hunt to show him all the stuff to do. Both Adam and Dean loved it, especially when Mary bought them each a large ice cream cone, though most of Adam’s need up on his face. The rest of the summer past quickly after that, a whirlwind of hunts that took them from the west coast to the east coast and back to Kansas in time for Dean to start school. Even though Dean wasn’t the one going on the hunts, he still felt exhausted when he collapsed on his bed in the bunker. He knew his parents felt the same.

School started two days later. Dean was excited to see his friends again, but wasn’t actually looking forward to the learning part. He found it incredibly boring when the teachers would just drone on and on about this war and that comma. It wasn’t that Dean wasn’t smart, he just thought he could make better use of his time learning to hunt, or even just learning something that he would actually use in the real world. Nevertheless, Dean did his best to keep his grades as high as possible, he knew that his parents would kill him if he failed a class. His mom really wanted him to graduate with a good education. She even told him that she would help him pay for college if he wanted. He knew he wasn’t going to though, Dean had his heart set on hunting full time as soon as he graduated. He knew his mom wanted him to go to college and stop hunting because she was scared about how dangerous hunting was, but he just couldn’t. Ever since he’d been a kid he knew that he would be a hunter. After all it was the family business. Dean was going to find his Sammy and save as many people as he could along the way. 

No matter his future plans though, Dean was still currently stuck in eighth grade algebra, and he was sure there was no situation where he would have to solve for x anywhere other than school. Luckily though, he had managed to snag a seat next to his friend Ryan, so at least he had company in his misery. He’d met Ryan on his first day in Lawrence when the boy had invited Dean to sit with him at lunch, and they had been friends ever since. Ryan was really into comics and cartoons, and was actually pretty good at drawing them himself. Thankfully, this meant that Dean could at least amuse himself by trying not laugh at Ryan’s rather unflattering interpretation of Mr. Jones droning on and on about the foil method.

The next few months followed in much the same manner until it was January and Dean was turning fourteen. Dean was, of course, excited. In two years, he would be allowed to actually hunt and his dad was also giving him the impala. Once he had the impala, Dean would go find Sam Dangé, he conveniently forgot that Sam would only be around 12 at the time since Sam acted older than he was, and the two young hunters would travel the US hunting and looking for his little Sammy. The more rational part of Dean’s brain knew that this dream was just a dream, and that his mom wanted him to graduate before he started hunting full time, but Dean was just fine with shutting that part of his brain up. The morning of his birthday, Dean woke up to a small three year old launching himself on to his bed.

“De! Dean! Wake up! Mama made you pancakes for your birthday!” Dean groaned at the sudden intrusion and turned onto his other side. Unfortunately for Dean, his younger brother was not so easily deterred. Adam simply crawled over Dean’s body so he was again facing his brother. “Come on! Mama said we can’t eat any till you're there cause it’s your birthday.” Realizing that getting any more sleep with his loud and energetic little brother in the same room was impossible, Dean reluctantly sat up.

“Fine. Fine. I’m up. You’d think they’d at least let me sleep in on my birthday,” Dean muttered. Adam just gave him a toothy grin in return. Ten minutes later Adam was waddling on behind his brother as he slowly made his way to the kitchen. Upon entering he was immediately greeted by a chorus of happy birthdays not just from his parents but also from one Bobby Singer.

“Uncle Bobby? What are you doing here?” Dean blinked slowly at him, wondering if he was imagining the man. He wasn’t really a morning person.

“I’m here for your birthday Dean. It’s not everyday you turn fourteen.” Dean was pretty sure he heard a muttered “idjit” from his uncle at the end, but he wasn’t sure. Dean just smiled sleepily back in response. Dean made a noise of affirmation mixed with a yawn.

“So Adam mentioned pancakes…?” Dean trailed off at the end looking at his mom. 

“Right here, baby.” Mary held out a plate of pancakes after giving him a big kiss on the forehead.

“Mom!” Dean, now being fourteen, was sure he was too old to be kissed by his mom. Mary mainly raised an eyebrow in response and Dean stopped complaining. Instead, Dean elected to sit down with his breakfast. His dad wandered over as his mom start helping Adam with his pancakes, which was sure to result in a syrupy mess.

“Happy birthday, Deano.” Dean at least had the grace to swallow before thanking his father. 

“Thanks, Dad.” Dean quickly went back to his pancakes. It may have been his birthday, but it was still a school day and he had to leave in a few minutes. 

“Dean, Why don’t you meet me in the garage after you get back from school today? I’ve got a surprise for you.” His dad grinned at Dean, probably in anticipation of the mysterious surprise.

“Isn’t mom making a birthday dinner or something?”

“Yes, but we’ll have a bit of time before the dinner.”

“Okay! See you then, Dad!” Dean grabbed his backpack and waved goodbye to everyone in the kitchen before running out the door. It would be just his luck to get detention for being late on his birthday.  

Dean couldn’t focus all day in school looking forward to his mother’s great birthday cake and wondering what his dad’s surprise was. When the final bell finally rang, Dean pretty much ran out of the building.

“Dad! I’m home!” Dean called as he entered the garage. Dean stopped and stared when he saw his dad standing next to the Impala holding the keys in his hand.

“Dean, now that you're fourteen I’ve decided that its time for you to learn how to drive.” Dean could do little more than stare at his father in disbelief. Chuckling at Dean’s reaction his dad continued, “I know you won’t be able to legally drive for a few years now, but I think you should know how just incase something happens to your mother and I on a hunt.”

Dean was ecstatic. He was going to learn to drive and was going to do it in the Impala! With barely a thanks to his dad he rushed to the drivers seat of the Impala. He sat there for a minute basking in the fact that he was finally going to get to drive her. That is until he had to get out from the car again to get the keys which he had forgotten to grab from his father in his excitement. The next two hours were spent on the deserted backroads around the bunker teaching Dean about the Impala. Dean was sure that the only birthday present that could top that was Sammy. Needless to say, Dean was sad when they had to return back to bunker. The rest of the night was spent celebrating with his parents, Bobby, and Adam. When the celebration was finally over Dean fell asleep immediately. It had been a good day.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! So Dean’s starting to develop the love for his car that we all know and love. Yes, I know he’s only fourteen but he’ll only drive in emergency’s and he’s on backroads for now so it should be fine… Definitely… Maybe we’ll just look the other way. So tell me what you think, what you’re curious about, and all that jazz. :)


	20. Twenty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam is 12.  
> Anna is 7.

Anna stopped asking about the Winchesters when she started first grade, and Sam never asked. Originally, The Winchesters had called him a few times seeing if they could team up on hunts, something Michael suspected Ellen encouraged since the kids all got along so well. The calls stopped after a few months though, which Michael thought was mostly John’s doing. He had never warmed up to him as Mary had. Finally though, things went back to the way they had been before the surprise meeting at the Roadhouse, with Michael doing his best to avoid the Winchesters. Sam had told him that the Winchesters had a base in Kansas, and from what he had heard it seemed that John had somehow found out about his Men of Letters heritage, so Michael tried to avoid the state as much as he could. In fact, Michael started taking more hunts on the two coasts to avoid the midwest area in general. He still made sure to stop by Bobby’s and the Roadhouse as often as possible though. Anna would have been furious if she couldn’t see Jo, and Sam was always excited to stop by Bobby’s and his extensive library on supernatural lore. 

Time seemed to pass quickly for Michael once both his children were in school. It was actually strange for him not to have to worry about finding a daycare for Anna while he was on a hunt or that she was amused while he did his research. He found he missed her too; it almost seemed too quiet without someone there. No matter how he felt though, he was definitely getting the job done. He would hunt, Sam and Anna would go to school, and they would move on after a few hunts. Their hunts were more spread out during the summer since they never settled down for long, and they would make sure to visit Bobby and the Roadhouse before school started back up again. Sam excelled at school even more than he had once he had moved up a grade, and Michael knew that it had been the right decision. Anna, too, did well in school and actually ended up being quite the social butterfly. Not that Michael was surprised, Anna had always been good with people. 

Before Michael knew it Sam was turning twelve, marking eleven and a half years since he had left heaven. They had a quiet celebration with the family, and Sam took a few of the friends he had made in their current town to see a movie. All in all, Sam thought it was pretty good as birthdays go, especially when Uncle Bobby had called him and told him that he had a special surprise for him the next time they visited. Which would probably be in a few weeks since they usually stopped by Bobby’s as soon as school got out. The last few weeks of school passed without incident, with Sam coming out top of his class which was par for course by this time. Soon enough, the family of three was headed out to Uncle Bobby’s. 

“Uncle Bobby!” Sam was out of the car as soon as Michael had parked the car, and he was closely followed by Anna. It wasn’t soon before Bobby had his arms full of little girl.

“Sam, Anna. How you two doing?”  Bobby was instantly bombarded with Anna’s fast paced account of her entire school year. Sam, used to his little sister’s antics, waited for her to finish before answering for himself. 

“I’m good, Uncle Bobby. Thanks for the birthday wishes,” Sam replied with his usual puppy dog eyes smile.

“Speaking of your birthday, why don’t we let your daddy get in here and then we can show you that surprise.”

The surprise, as it turned out, was joint gift from his father, Uncle Bobby, and the Harvelles. It was a set of matching knives, one iron and one silver. They were finely made, though not flashy, and Sam couldn't be any more happy. 

“You’re a hunter now, Sam. Becoming a man,” Bobby explained to him, “It’s time that you had your own weapons.” Sam just smiled up at him. As far as he was concerned it was the best birthday present ever. Sam knew he wouldn’t be able to make an angel blade like his dad until his grace had fully developed, and he had been using his dad’s knives and weapons to practice and hunt. Now he had his very own. Sam spent the rest of the day practicing with his new knives. Then he spent the next day practicing, and the next day, and the day after that. Eventually, Bobby caught wind of a hunt in northern Illinois, and since they were the closest, Michael volunteered to go take care of it. It sounded like a simple vamp problem to Michael. According to the newspaper article Bobby had found, there was a single body drained of blood with apparent teeth marks on the neck. To Michael it sounded like only one or two vamps, instead of a nest. Lone vampires were rare, but they still happened. Turned out Michael was wrong though. It wasn’t vamps.

Michael felt it as soon as he got into the motel room and was actually able to pay attention to what his senses were telling him. He would have noticed sooner, but he had been  too busy trying to get Sam and Anna to stop fighting in the car. They were great together, but like any siblings, they still got testy when stuck in a car together for too long. Either way though, Michael knew it was too late to leave without hoping he’d been noticed. The most he could do was get Sam and Anna out of the way of the inevitable confrontation. 

“Sam, why don’t you take Anna to the park we passed on the way in. You guys could both stretch your legs.” Michael finished with a sigh. Thinking his dad was worn out from the long drive where he and Anna had argued more than usual, Sam didn’t protest.

“Sure Dad. C’mon Anna,” he said pretty much pulling his sister out the door. Once they were gone, Michael set about warding the room and bringing in the bags, while waiting for his visitor. He couldn’t stop this meeting from happening, but he could do his best to control how it was going to go down. Thankfully he was pretty confident that this wan’t going to result in Sam or Anna being hurt or him being reported to Heaven. After all, Gabriel wanted to be found by Heaven just about as much as Michael did.

“So big bro, wanna tell me why you're still down here playing human?” Michael turned around to find Gabriel leaning against a wall with a lollypop in one hand and his usual trickster gleam in his eyes. It was no surprise to Michael since he knew his brother would have found him out as soon as he arrived in town. Michael was actually surprised it had taken him so long to show. 

“Gabriel. It’s good to see you again.” Michael’s smile was genuine though he still had no idea how this encounter would turn out.

“Ditto, brother dear. Tell me are you still having a little spat with everyone upstairs? I wouldn’t have thought you could leave for twelve years, so tell me, what gives?”

“Really? I was under the impression that you did not want to have anything to do with what caused me to leave the Host.”

“Well times change Mikey. Who’d have thought you’d stay away for so long? I got curious. Besides unless the maids here are horrible at their jobs and left salt on the windowsills, it looks to me as if you joined the noble ranks of Earth’s hunters. Why would you do that?” Gabriel’s voice was a mix of scorn and incredulity, all accompanied by a mischievous smirk of course.

“Gabriel,” Michael sighed, having forgotten how difficult dealing with his younger brother could be, “do you really believe that I would leave Heaven for anything other than a good reason? Trust me when I say that I had a good reason for leaving and that I’ll have to stay away for quite a while longer. You were right though,” Michael switched topics suddenly, “they are looking for me. Raphael’s taken over, and I’m probably a top priority right now. I’ve taken a lot of care to make sure I’m not noticed by them. And I am hunting because it is the best option for me.”

“Okay, I get it bro,” Gabriel said while mockingly raising his hands in a defensive position, “There’s trouble in paradise. Blah blah blah. I was there too remember? Anyway as I said, I’ve been curious as to why you left, and I’ve changed my mind. I want to know what made the great and mighty Michael leave Heaven. So will you please please tell me?” Gabe ended with a pleading look and comically clasped hands. Before Michael had time to reply though, they were interrupted by an opening door. 

“Dad? Do you have any money? Anna’s hungry.” Sam said as he walked into the room, only stop cold at the sight of his father with an unknown blond stranger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay Gabriel’s back! Please don’t kill me for the cliffhanger. : / You’ll learn what happens next week (I’m not so evil as to make you wait a full two weeks. ;P ) So tell me your reactions please! I love hearing what you all have to say. (Honestly, I get stupidly happy when I get a comment email ;) ) Also, I have a super awesome friend Kiwi who did a bit of art work for this fic so if you want to see that, it is on my tumblr "i-dont-have-a-clever-username" (I know great username :/) under the tag GenesisSPNfanart, so check it out! Anyway, Until next week and have a good day/night!


	21. Twenty-One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don’t usually do this, but since the last chapter ended mid conversation, I put the last bit of that chapter at the beginning of this one.  
> Sam is 12.  
> Anna is 7.

_“Anyway as I said, I’ve been curious as to why you left, and I’ve changed my mind. I want to know what made the great and mighty Michael leave Heaven. So will you please please tell me?” Gabe ended with a pleading look and comically clasped hands. Before Michael had time to reply though, they were interrupted by an opening door._

_“Dad? Do you have any money? Anna’s hungry.” Sam said as he walked into the room, only stop cold at the sight of his father with an unknown blond stranger._

 

“Dad?” Gabriel echoed, turning away from Sam and raising an eyebrow at Michael. For once, Michael had no idea how to respond. 

“Gabriel, this is my son Samuel.” At the name Gabriel, Michael noticed his son stiffen. It wouldn’t have been noticeable to anyone who didn’t know Sam well, but his son definitely realized who Gabriel was. Michael sent a look towards Sam telling him to follow his lead. Meanwhile Gabriel was looking between father and son with astonishment written clear as day on his usually laughing features.

“You, the great Michael, the leader of the Host, have as son?”

“Apparently,” Michael replied in the most dry, sarcastic voice he could muster and matched Gabriel’s one raised eyebrow with two. “Sam,” he turned away from his brother to his son, “my wallet’s on the table. Get Anna something to eat, nothing too sugary, and wait for me at the park.” Sam nodded and quickly made his retreat back to his sister. 

“So wanna tell me something, Mikey? Like maybe how you’re a father? And I don’t know, how about the fact that I’m an uncle?” Gabriel actually sounded a bit upset at the end of his little tirade. 

“You did not want to know, if I recall correctly.”

“Yeah, but I would’ve wanted to know about this, bro. That kid’s my nephew. I’m supposed to be giving him his first beer and stuff.” Michael narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t you dare, Gabriel. He’s twelve.”

“Good!” Michael just knew that that smile was going to be causing him trouble for the next few years. “I’m still in time!” Michael did not laugh. “So he’s half human then? How’d that happen? Slip one past the goalie, eh Mikey?” Michael sighed, which he seemed to be doing a lot during this conversation.

“His mother was human, yes, but Gabriel, she was my vessel at the time.”

“Your vessel? So you’re mommy?” Gabriel promptly started laughing. “So who’s the baby daddy?”

“That’s the thing Gabriel. There is no other parent. It was just me and her.” Gabriel abruptly stopped laughing.

“That’s not possible.”

“You think I don’t know that? Somehow my grace and Mary’s soul just combined.”

“Good Dad, Mikey. I’ve never heard of anything like that. You know the rest of the host won’t like it.” Michael gave a sharp laugh.

“Why do you think I ran? They don’t know about Sammy, or Anna,” Michael added after a moment of thought. “If Raphael ever finds out about them,” Michael started to trail off, “I don’t know what I’d do, Gabe.” Michael was sitting with his head in his hands by this point. Gabriel was a lot more serious now. He knew just as well as Michael did what would happen if the rest of their brothers ever found out that Michael had a nephilim son walking the earth. 

“Well, we’ll just make sure that Raphi remains blissfully ignorant about the existence of a certain nephew of his. Oh and by the way, whose Anna? Sammy boy isn't a twin is he?”

“What?” Michael looked up, shocked at the idea of Sam being Anna’s twin. “No, no. Anna’s his little sister. She’s turning eight soon.” It was Gabriel’s turn to be shocked

“Another one? My, my have we been busy, eh Mikey?” Gabriel said waggling his eyebrows. “But seriously bro, two nephilim within like five years of each other?”

“Anna’s not actually mine.” Michael was able to tell that Gabriel was just a little impatient with his vague answers with just one look at his brother’s face. “She’s Anael.”

“Anael?” Gabriel repeated after Michael in a incredulous voice. “Garrison commander, fierce fighter, Anael? How?”

“She fell. A little after I left. She probably didn’t agree with the way Raphael was running things. She was born human to a couple in Ohio about eight years ago.”

“Okay,” Gabriel drew the ‘ay’ out much longer than necessary, “so how is she with you and Sammy rather than in Ohio with said couple?”

“Demons found her. I just happened to be hunting them. The couple was killed and, well, Anna immediately bonded with Sam, and I didn’t know what to do with her, so I just kind of took her with us.” Gabriel made an indistinguishable sounded of inquiry. “Don’t look at me like that Gabriel. She was my little sister in Heaven; now she’s my daughter, and I love her as such. And don’t you dare tell her about being fallen. She’s only seven and I refuse to tell her something like that until she is old enough to handle it.”

“I didn’t say anything, bro. Gotta admit though, you're quite the family man now.” Looking at Gabriel’s smirk, Michael let out yet another sigh. “So just curious, who in fact is Sam’s mother? She must be something special to have been your vessel.” 

“Mary Winchester.” If it weren’t for his dignity as an archangel of the Lord, Michael might have actually laughed at the expression on Gabriel’s face. 

“Mary Winchester, as in Mary-used-to-be-Cambell-Winchester? The hunter? The women who is potentially the mother of both yours and Luci’s true vessels? That Mary Winchester?” Michael just nodded in response. “Holy Dad, Mikey, you do know how to pick ‘em, eh?” Michael just gave his brother a wry smile. “So can we go now?”

“Go where?” Michael looked at Gabriel in obvious confusion.

“To meet my niece and nephew of course! You didn’t think you could tell me all this then just expect me to leave? As of this moment I’m going to start being the horrible influence of an uncle that I should have been for the past twelve years.” Michael couldn’t really disagree with that, well at least the being an uncle part. He hoped that Gabriel would at least try to be a good influence on his children. Michael stood up and walked towards the door.

“You wait here, Gabriel. While I go get them.” Gabriel started to interrupt but Michael stopped him. “I’ll bring them right here. I just don’t think that this is the kind of conversation that we want to be having out in public.” 

Without giving his brother time to protest again, Michael walked out of the room. Surprisingly Gabriel didn't follow him. Knowing Gabriel, he was probably taking the time alone to look around the room to see what else he could find out about Michael’s surprising family life. It didn’t take long for Michael to locate his children. Apparently Sam had already gotten his sister her snack and they had made their way back to the park. Currently, Sam was doing his brotherly duty of pushing Anna as high as she wanted on the swings. As soon as she saw Michael, she jumped off at the highest point possible, nearly giving Michael a heart attack, and ran towards him. 

“Daddy!”

“Hey Princess, having fun?” She excitedly replied yes as Sam walked up to the pair. 

“Hey Dad, everything okay back at the motel?” Michael could see that Sam was trying to ask what had happened with Gabriel without trying to alarm his sister. Both children knew what would happen if Heaven found them.

“Everything’s great, kiddo. I’ve actually got someone I want you to meet.” Sam’s eyes widened at that. He’d had no idea what to do when he’d seen his dad with Gabriel in the motel, but he was sure that his dad was going to do his best to keep him and Anna out of it. Sam knew that Gabriel and left Heaven and the Host thought him dead, but he knew that Michael wanted as few people as possible to know about him. Now though, it seemed that he’d actually get to meet his uncle. Something he’d wanted to do ever since he’d heard his dad tell stories about some of Gabriel’s antics. He’d never admit it, and hopefully his father would never find out, but Sam was actually quite the trickster himself. Since his dad never showed anything of the sort, Sam always assumed it had come from his mysterious uncle Gabriel or his unknown mom. Now he would get to find out! Sam suddenly looked up to find himself in front of the motel room. The small trio had walked back while he was lost in his thoughts. Sam also realized that he had missed his dad explaining to Anna that they were meeting his brother Gabriel, and that no Gabriel was not like his other brothers and actually quite wanted to meet his niece and nephew. Michael opened the door and stepped into the room before his children. 

“Gabriel, this is Sam and Anna.” He gestured to each child as they were introduced. Michael was actually curious if Gabriel could get his vessel to smile any wider. 

“So this is famous duo I’ve been hearing so much about,” he turned to Anna, “Let me tell you, Milady, it’s an honor to meet you.” He said his little speech with a little bow and flourish, to which Anna giggled in response. 

“You’re weird. I like you.” She smiled back at her newly discovered uncle. Now that he’d won the heart of his young niece, Gabriel turned to his nephew. 

“And you, Sammy,” Gabriel gave the boy an over-exaggerated wink, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Really.” Michael knew his son’s dry sarcasm was Sam’s way of hiding how nervous he was. 

“Why, yes I have, young man. And let me tell you you're father talks way too much.” Gabriel got a smile for that one, and he was quite proud of his success. “So Sammy boy, why don’t you tell me how hard it is living with this stickler for a father.” Michael looked affronted at the suggestion that he was a stickler but both the children seemed to find it funny. Gabriel leaned in closer to Sam and Anna, “Let me tell you about this one time your father here and our brother Luci wanted to know what would happen if a duck ever met a beaver.”

“Gabriel, you know that was all you,” Michael retorted. He turned to Sam and Anna who were both listening with wide eyes, “He was trying to show off for the younger angels.” This time is was Gabriel’s turn to look affronted. 

What followed was a night of Sam and Anna getting to know their Uncle Gabriel and Michael getting to re-know the brother that had left so many years ago. All in all, Michael was surprised at how much he liked have Gabriel there. It was nice to have someone he could explain everything to; especially after Sam and Anna had gone to bed and Michael filled his brother in on the rest of the details about what had happened in the past twelve years. Like Michael, Gabriel agreed that eventually Heaven and Hell would find the small family, but he also promised that he would be there to help them. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So welcome back Gabriel! Hopefully Sam won’t get into too much trouble with you around… ;P So please please tell me what you think of Gabe coming back :) Also I probably won't be able to post next week. Maybe the week after though. IB tests are coming up this month so that means non stop studying for the next few weeks. :( I promise I will do my best to get chapters up when that madness passes though.


	22. Twenty-Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dean is 15.  
> Adam is 3.   
> Sam is 10.

It wasn’t until the April after Dean turned fifteen that they finally got another lead on Sammy. Sadly though, Dean wasn’t actually there. Seeing that he wouldn’t be sixteen and allowed to hunt for quite a few months, Dean, of course, wasn’t on the hunt with them. Instead Dean was stuck back in Lebanon going to school and watching Adam. He still couldn’t drive, but Lebanon was surprisingly close to the bunker if you knew the woods and backroads, so Dean was able to drop Adam off at his daycare before going to school. His parents very rarely left him alone with Adam, but it was a special circumstance. They had gotten a call from Bobby about a pretty dangerous demon hunt and he needed everyone on deck. And to Dean it seemed that everyone except him was going. His parents had left with Caleb the week before and he knew they were meeting Bobby, Joshua, Rufus, and Bill Harvelle there. The only other hunter Dean knew that was pretty close with Bobby that wasn’t going was Michael Dangé. That didn’t surprise Dean though since Dean hadn’t seen the man, or more importantly his son Sam, who Dean was still determined to do at least a few hunts with when he was older, in almost two years. Apparently Michael Dangé worked alone the majority of the time.

To say the least, Dean was peeved that he didn’t get to go along, which was usually the case. Even if he wasn’t allowed to go on the hunt he could at least go to the hunt with them. Even though he hated research, he would have done it just to be able to be at an actual demon hunt. But no, according to his parents demons were too dangerous and he had school. As if school would be any use when he was hunting full time. Either way, Dean was currently munching on cold pizza while watching TV after he had put Adam to bed. The one advantage of his parents being gone was he’d could stay up as late as he wanted and he got pizza. His parents were supposed to be back sometime within the next few days. They had called earlier in the day to tell Dean that they had finally found out where the demon was holed up and they were going after it that night. That was one of the reasons Dean was still up at three in the morning. He just couldn’t seem to sleep till he got a call from his parents. He knew that they would call as soon as it was safe; they always did. It was almost six when the call finally came. Dean had already decided that he was taking a day of off school. There was no way he’d make it through the day without at least one detention for sleeping in class. When the phone rang, Dean answered on the first ring.

“Mom?”

“Dean, honey. I’m glad we caught you before you left for school.” It was a good thing Mary wasn’t actually there or she would have caught the guilty look on Dean’s face.

“Yeah, yeah. So did you get it? The demon?”

“Yes we did, the host didn’t make it though.” Mary sounded sad at that, “She was just a young thing too. Little blonde girl about your age called Meg. Thing had the nerve to tell us to call her by the hosts name too!” Mary was angry by the end. 

“It’s okay, mom. You can’t save everyone.” Dean knew how his mom got when she couldn’t save someone. She always thought it was her fault. Dean failed to realize that he was exactly the same way though. “So when are you gonna be back?” At this he could tell his mom was hesitating on the other end of the line. 

“Dean, baby, the demon told us some stuff, and we have to look into it immediately. Ellen and Jo are gonna come stay with you for a few weeks while we look into it.” Dean didn’t like that plan at all.

“But mom, how come Jo can miss school and I can’t? And I don’t need a babysitter, I’m fifteen!”

“I know you’re old enough to stay by yourself. Ellen’s coming to look after Adam. And Jo, unlike you, is not in high school. She can switch to the Lebanon schools for the few weeks she’s here.” Dean was still fuming.

“You’re gonna be gone long enough that she needs to go to school here? Just how long are you gonna be gone? What could the demon tell you that means you can’t come home?”

“Dean,” Mary sighed. She knew her son was upset and was about to become even more angry. “I don’t know how long we’ll be gone. It won’t be more than a month.” If Dean’s scoff was anything to go by he was still not impressed. “Dean, listen to me. We have to follow this right now. The demon,” Mary paused still shocked herself from what she had heard that night. “The demon gave us a lead on Sammy.” 

Dean almost dropped the phone when he heard his mother speak. After so long searching for Sammy, they finally had a lead. After ten years, finding Sammy had become almost like a dream. He still thought about his lost brother everyday, and still promised himself that he would go find his Sammy as soon as he was old enough; actually finding him seemed so far away. It was like his graduation. He knew it would eventually happen; but he couldn’t actually imagine it. It had been 10 years. When he thought about Sammy he still thought about a smiling baby, but now with the reality of finding his brother potentially within his grasp, he had to come to the realization that his Sammy would have grown up. Dean wasn’t a four year old boy anymore, and Sam would be an actual kid who Dean had missed growing up. Dean hated that more than anything, how when he found Sammy, they wouldn’t know each other. Dean didn’t care though. When he found him, Dean would get to know his Sammy, and probably not let him out of his sight for another ten years. It was then that Dean realized something; his parents were following the lead without him. 

“What?” Dean pretty much screamed into the telephone, “You have a lead on Sammy and you're going without me? You can’t!”

“Dean, calm down. I know you want to find Sammy, but you need to stay with your brother. You're only fifteen and haven’t been on a hunt yet. I won’t risk you getting hurt.”

“But mom,” Dean started to interrupt.

“No buts. I promise your father and I will keep you updated. Now are you able to calm down and listen to what the demon told us or will I have to call back this afternoon after you’ve had school to calm you down?” Dean took a deep breath. Though still mad at his parents, he knew that his mother didn’t make idle threats.

“I can listen.” 

“Good. Now we didn’t hear much from the demon, but we did find out enough that we know she was talking about Sammy. She actually mentioned him by name. Dean, according to the demon, yellow-eyes is her father.” 

“Demons can have kids?” Dean’s voice was incredulous. “How does that even work?” Dean mentally cringed at the thought.

“Bobby thinks its more of an honorary title rather than any actual familial ties.” 

“Okay, that’s still really weird. Did she give you yellow-eyes’ name?” Mary made a negative noise into the phone.

“No, she only referred to him as her father. Apparently dropping names is a big no no. She started taunting us about Sammy though. According to her, we aren’t going to see him again.” Dean drew in a sharp breath.

“Does that mean he’’s dead?”

“No. That’s what we thought at first too, so your father got a bit more creative with his questioning technique. Apparently, whoever the second demon was hid Sammy somewhere. Who knows it might not have even been a demon.”

“What do you mean?” 

“According to the demon, no one can find him. Apparently she and a few other of yellow-eyes’ lackeys have been looking for Sam as long as we have. And Yellow-eyes’ may not even know who has him. If he does, he’s obviously not telling anyone else.”

“But why do you think it might not be a demon?”

“Well apparently yellow-eyes is the head honcho down there. It’d be pretty hard for a demon to hide him that long.” 

“Then what do you think it could be?”

“I don’t know, baby. My first guess would be an angel, but they haven’t been seen in years. They haven’t interfered with demons before, so why would they do so now? It’s more likely that it was something else, demon or not, that hid Sam from yellow-eyes before going back to what ever he was doing before.”

“So you think that Sam might not have been a prisoner this whole time?”

“It’s a possibility. Your father and I are going to look into child services records from around the time they took Sammy. See if any babies around Sam’s age were found.”

“Mom, that’ll take forever.”

“I know but right now it’s the only lead we have.” Dean heard his father’s muffled voice from the other end of the line. “I’ve got to go, sweetie. We’re heading out. I’ll call you tonight, okay?”

“Yeah. Bye mom. Love you.”

“You too honey. Give Adam a kiss for me.” Dean hung up the phone and went to check on Adam, who was surprisingly still sleeping. His thoughts were racing a mile a minute. They finally had some information of Sammy. It may not have been much, but it was more than they had found in the past decade. He couldn’t wait for his parents to call back. He was sure that he’d be able to help in the search, he’d just have to convince them. After all, Lebanon was sure to have some records about babies and stuff that he could look into. 

Even though he had told his mom he was going to school, Dean was still sticking to his plan to take a day off. He called Adam’s daycare to say that Adam wouldn’t be there that day, then made his way to his room. With all he had learned in the past hour, Dean was sure he’d be on edge all day, but as soon as he saw his bed, his sleepless night caught up with him. Dean was asleep within minutes, only to be woken up a few hours later by his very hungry little brother. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I’m back! I only have one more IB Test. After French tomorrow and Tuesday I’ll finally be done! Anyway, with everything that’s been going on I didn’t really have a lot of time to write. (Fun fact: If you sell your house you will be kicked out for the majority of the weekend so the agent can show off your room to random strangers.) But I’m back now and will hopefully be able to get back into a regular rhythm. (At least until finals). So Dean’s getting older and closer to finding Sammy… Maybe. But at 15, it won’t be long till he can finally hunt. Yay! As always tell me what you liked, didn’t like, and basically your thoughts in general! :)


	23. Twenty-Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam is 14.   
> Anna is 10.

 

“Nephilim.” Sam froze at the feel of the tip of a blade at his back. Slowly he lowered his hands and turned around.

“Close kiddo, but I still felt your grace.” Sam scowled up at his uncle.

“But Uncle Gabe, you didn't play fair.” Sam knew he was complaining, but he was getting tired. He had been training with his uncle for what felt like hours.

“Hey it’s not my fault you’re distracted by pretty girls.” Gabe winked at him while twirling his angel blade in his hand. Sam blushed at the memory of Gabriel’s illusion.

“How do you even know who Amy is anyway?” Gabe smiled even wider. He knew that the girl from Sam’s english class would make a good illusion to distract him with.

“Oh Anna was very talkative this morning about how she had seen you the library yesterday.” Sam’s blush grew even larger. “Don’t worry I won’t tell your dad. With all seriousness though, kiddo, you need to be able to hide your grace at all times, even when distracted by a pretty girl.”

“Yeah, I know.” Ever since they had found Gabriel two years previously, Gabe had been working with Sammy to completely hide his grace and create illusions. Michael was a warrior and could teach Sam a lot, but Gabriel had always been a specialist in grace manipulation. And his years living as a pagan god had only improved his skills. He was teaching Sam how to completely hide his grace, yet maintain the ability to use his powers at the same time. He was also teaching Sam how to create illusions, though that was harder for the young boy. They hadn’t even attempted living illusions yet. Michael had been able to teach Sam to hide his grace, but Gabe was able to do it better. Hopefully in a few years Sam would be able to completely hide his grace from even archangels. 

It was always a treat for Sam and Anna whenever Gabriel came to visit. He didn’t travel with the small family because he had his own things to do, but he was always a welcome visitor. It was just too suspicious to have Gabe as a permanent member of  the family. Michael Dangé apparently had no other family, and Gabriel was known as Loki in too many circles. Some of those circles included hunters. They wouldn’t be able to explain why a hunter family was suddenly hanging out with something they were supposed to be hunting. 

“Hey, it’s fine, Sammich. You’re doing really well. I doubt anyone but an archangel could sense your grace now.” Gabe could see that Sam was a bit discouraged that he was taking so long to learn this. 

“It’s just hard to keep it hidden while also using it. It’s like I’m trying to pull my grace in two different directions.”

“You have to work on feeling your grace. Once you're attuned to it you'll be able to manipulate it like you want too. It’s the same with creating the illusions. Once you actually understand your grace, you'll be able to use it to manipulate the environment around you.” Gabriel was a trickster but he knew when to be serious and right now, his nephew needed him. 

“I know that! I just can’t figure out how to connect with it when I’m fighting. I can feel my grace when I meditate with dad; it feels blue and glow-like, but I just can’t seem to grasp it when I’m working.”  
“It will come with time. It takes a while to synchronize yourself with your grace. Your father and I were born as grace, we instinctively know how to use it, but you were born already in a vessel. That means you have to figure out how your grace has settled in your body before you can use it like we can.” Sam just nodded, not really agreeing with anything. “Come on kiddo, I think that’s enough practice for one day. Let’s go see how you dad and Anna are doing.” Sam seemed to brighten at that and followed Gabriel out of the wooded clearing they were practicing in to Gabriel’s absurdly nice car in order to head back to the house where the small family was currently staying. 

Later that night, when Gabriel was entertaining Anna with the PG rated stories of his adventures as a pagan god, Sam sat in the corner discussing the day’s progress with his father. Like Gabriel, his dad thought he was being too hard on himself and that he couldn’t expect to be an expert at everything immediately. 

“Sam, just give it time.” Sam nodded at the words which he felt like he had heard a thousand times. “Your flight feathers are starting to come in, right?” Sam gave an indistinct sound of agreement. Now that he was older, the last part of his wings were finally developing. Hopefully in a few weeks he would be able to fly, something he had been looking forward to for years. “Once your feathers come in your grace will start to settle down. It’s maturing right now which is bound to make it a little hard to control. You’ll have an easier time when it finished maturing.”

“I just wish it would hurry up. I’ve never had this much trouble with something before. Even healing was easier!” Michael just smiled at his son. It was part of Sam’s personality to be best at everything. A trait that was responsible for him being the top of the class in every school they went to, even if they were only there a few weeks. 

“You can’t be good at everything, Sammy.” His son just glared at him. Partly because at fourteen, Sam felt he was too old for the childish nickname, and partly because he was going to prove his dad wrong. He would figure out how to create illusions and hide his grace, and he would be good at it.

The next day Gabriel left; he never stayed longer than a few days even though they did see him fairly frequently. He left with the promise that as soon as Sam’s flight feathers came in he’d be there to give him a lesson or two on flying. Sam didn’t know whether to be excited or a bit nervous about that. He loved his uncle but Gabriel could be a bit eccentric at times and didn’t always get that Sam was half human and therefore not invincible. He thought it might be safer just to stick with lessons from his dad. His dad had also decided that it was time for them to move on once again. They’d been in their current town for a few months already and they had already exhausted all hunts in the area. So they finished up the school year, of which there was only about a week left, and headed out, probably for Bobby’s or the Roadhouse until his dad found another hunt. It was a routine that both Sam and Anna were used to, and neither really minded that much anymore. Sure they would miss the friends they made, but unlike a lot of siblings they were close and they usually saw Jo a lot during the summer anyway. 

In all honesty, Sam was actually a bit happy to move on. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the town they were in, but he was ready to go. He wanted to see Jo and Bobby and all the people he could talk to without too much lying. It was tiring at times. He made good friends but they knew so little about him. With Jo and other hunters he could talk about the hunting part of his life freely, and since hunting was such a big part of his life, that made a difference. 

He also got to hunt more during the summer, and as he got older he found he was enjoying it more. After all, his dad had been training him since he was little and he liked to test his skills. He was pretty sure that he wanted to continue hunting when he was older, but he knew he wanted to go to college as well. There was no reason he couldn’t do both though. His dad agreed. Secretly, Sam thought his dad would be fine with any plan that kept him off the radar and still kept his skills sharp. Though it didn’t often seem like it in day to day life, the threat of being found out as a nephilim was still very real and Sam knew his dad worried.

He often thought of the other hunting family that they had met so many years ago. He knew that his dad hadn’t really liked the Winchesters, even if he had never actually learned the reason as to why that was. Though that didn’t stop him from hoping they’d accidentally run into them again. He had liked Dean and wanted to see him again. The older boy would be old enough that his parents would be letting him hunt now. He remembered how they’d planned to be a hunting team and thought it would be fun to maybe go on a hunt with the other kid. He loved his family and all the hunting friends they had, but he and Dean had created a solid friendship in a short amount of time. Sam just really wanted another guy his age he could talk to about that kind of stuff. Jo was always willing to talk but she was older now and hunting wasn’t the only thing she was concerned about anymore. She was still adamant that she would be a hunter, but Sam had caught her and Anna also talking about things that where incomprehensible to him. He guessed it must have been a girl thing. Sam had no idea how to contact the boy though. Heck, he didn’t even know if Dean remembered him. After all, they had only met once. Either way though, Sam was looking forward to their summer travels since he knew that was when they would most likely cross paths again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys. Sorry for posting late. : / I know I said I’d try to be regular at posting and I am still trying. I may be a day late or so for the next few weeks though. Hopefully I’ll actually have some time for writing once school ends. (Who knew graduating was so time consuming?) Anyway everyone’s getting older, which means more plotty things are going to be happening soon. Yay! So, as always, feel free to tell me how I did!


	24. Twenty-Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dean is 16.   
> Adam is 4.

Dean was in heaven. Yesterday had been his sixteenth birthday and his father had given him the impala. It wasn’t that he hadn’t driven it before, but now it was his and there was just something different when he drove now. Of course, the first thing he had done today was go pick up some of his friends in Lebanon to celebrate. Yesterday, his actual birthday, was for a family, a rule his mother had enforced since for ever, but today he could celebrate by showing the impala off to his friends while they got up to whatever bored teenagers did on Sunday afternoons. That is to say, not everything they were doing was particularly legal. Dean wasn’t an idiot though, he loved his baby too much to drive her while drunk, so most of what they did consisted of fooling around in an abandoned barn outside of town and talking about girls.

Which was another area Dean was currently feeling quite pleased with himself in. Over the past few years or so, Dean had become quite the ladies man; his mother blamed Caleb. He’d never really had a serious girlfriend but he was famous around school for being the guy that every girl had a crush on. He’d just gotten a date with Megan, who was the head cheer leader and a senior to boot. It wasn’t too shabby for a lowly sophomore. Best of all, Dean knew she wasn’t looking for anything too serious; she was heading out of state for college at the end of the year after all. Dean was popular in school, but not in the same way the football team was; and being a small-town in Kansas, football was pretty popular. Rather, Dean, probably due to the hunter training, just gave off a bad boy vibe that for some reason made people either hate him or love him. Either way, most people knew who he was. Dean didn’t really get it and mostly stuck to the three or four friends he had made when they’d first moved to Lebanon. His friends knew not to ask where he went during the summers and such, so it was easier just to stick with them rather than get involved with high school politics. Except when it came to a pretty girl of course, he was a teenager after all.

The best part of finally being sixteen though was that he was now allowed to hunt. Dean couldn’t wait fir his first hunt. It seemed like he had been training for ever. He knew his mother was still worried that he was starting hunting but his mother worried about everything, especially her sons. None of them had ever gotten over Sammy being taken from right under their noses. Dean knew his parents were going to start him on the more run-of-the-mill ghost hunts, but at least it was a hunt. He couldn’t wait till his parents found something. He’d even been extra careful in keeping his grades up this year so his parents wouldn’t have an excuse to keep him away any longer. He was finally going to start actually contributing to the family business. 

“Dean? Dean?” Dean looked up from where he was daydreaming about hunting, which was totally acceptable and not childish at all thank you very much, only to be hit in the face with a peanut by his friend Ryan.

“Huh?” Dean could be a very eloquent speaker at times.

“I asked,” Ryan’s exasperation was clear in his voice. He knew his friend had been distracted all day, “what you think about Katie Breyers.”

“Hmm,” Dean appeared to give it some thought, “Nah, she’s too hot for you.”

“Hey!” Ryan sounded affronted while Dean looked at him innocently. Meanwhile, Hunter, the other kid with them, gave a snort.

“He’s got you there, Ryan.” Ryan, as teenage boys often did, proceeded to tackle his friend. Dean just laughed while Ryan and Hunter mock wrestled, knowing that he could beat either one of his friends. Dean looked out a window to the darkening sky.

“C’mon guys, we should get back. It’s getting late.” Dean knew his mom would kill him if he came home late, and he was trying to stay on his parents good side lately so he would get to go on a hunt as soon a possible.

As it turned out, it only took his parents about two weeks to find a hunt that they felt would be a good starter hunt. It was a classic salt n’ burn, as Dean had known it would be. He did the majority of the research for it, since according to his mother, if he was old enough to go out in the field he was also old enough to do his own research. Dean hated research but he was used it. Both his parents had come on the hunt, and had left Adam with Ellen for the week. According to his mom, his first hunt a big rite of passage or something. Dean honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if she started taking pictures while he was knee deep in grave dirt. Hid dad was more about Dean finally being able to hunt with him. His dad had always been of the opinion that sixteen was a little excessive. He’d tried to convince his mom that he’d be fine at fourteen, but Mary wouldn’t hear of it. Dean was just excited to hunt. After all, hunting was the first step towards finding Sammy. Dean wanted to hunt so he could protect and reunite his family. He wouldn’t let what happened to Sammy happen to Adam, and if he had to kill every monster he came across to do so, he would. 

As for the hunt itself, it was pretty simple. His parents weren’t even planning on participating. It would just be Dean; his parents were there though in case anything went wrong. As far as cases went, it was relatively simple and almost jokingly easy to research. A teenage boy had killed his girlfriend for supposedly cheating back in the early 70’s and had never been prosecuted for it. The whole town knew he had done it, but there had been no proof. This year, the boy, now a man, had moved back after being gone for years, and kids had started dying where the girl had supposedly been killed. It was no leap to figure out that she was the one killing the kids. Dean hadn’t even needed to be that subtle about his question asking. The murder seemed to be the first thing everyone in the town brought up when asked about their town. He’d even heard the word ghost once or twice himself. Apparently a decades old murder was the most interesting thing to ever happen in the small Oklahoma town. All in all he was only in town for two days before he decided, and his parents agreed with him, that he was ready for the actual salt n’ burn.

Dean had only dug about a third of the grave before the ghost showed. It wasn’t all that surprising since as a teenaged boy he fit her victim profile perfectly. Dean’s first thought was that she was pretty hot for a dead chick. His second was that he should probably do something about her before she threw him into a gravestone or something. Quickly, he picked up the salt loaded shot gun next to the grave and aimed at her. His parents had their guns aimed at her too, but Dean knew they were giving him the chance to deal with it before they stepped in. Dean had been training for years so when when he shot the girl, it was a direct hit and she disappeared. It was a weighty feeling, after so long of waiting to hunt, he had just shot his first spirit. With a stupid grin on his face that probably showed his parents exactly how he felt about what he had just done, Dean went back to digging. He picked up the pace a little, not knowing how quickly she would reform. Apparently, she wasn’t that strong since it took her till Dean was almost done with the grave to reappear. Again, Dean got her with rock salt, though it took him two shots this time. That was the most excitement he got for the rest of the hunt. She didn’t reappear until Dean was about to drop the match in her grave, giving Dean the satisfaction of seeing his first ghost go up in flames. 

“Congrats, kiddo. You did good.” Dean smiled up at his dad. John Winchester was not a very vocal man; if he gave you a compliment, it was genuine. His mom came up right behind his dad. 

“Are you okay, honey? She didn’t hurt you did she?” Dean shook off his mother who was checking him all over for even the smallest injury. 

“Nah, mom. I’m fine. She didn’t even touch me.” Mary gave a small huff.

“Well in that case, maybe we should celebrate. I’m proud of you honey. You’re a hunter now.” As it turned out, Mary’s form of celebrating was taking him out for ice cream at the closest twenty-four hour place. Dean had changed his jacket in the car, so he wasn’t attracting any strange glances by being covered in grave dirt. Still though, he was a sixteen year old kid out with his parents for ice cream at one in the morning so they still got a few weird looks. When they got back to the bunker the next day, Dean found out that his dad’s version of celebrating was a little different. Mary had taken Adam out to restock on groceries, and Dean and his dad had the night to themselves. John started it out by handing his son a beer. 

“You’re a man now, son, and I’ll treat you like one. Just don’t tell your mother.” Both men internally shuddered. Neither wanted to induce Mary’s wrath if she found out that John had let Dean drink. Dean smiled back at his dad. 

“Thanks, dad.” Things were going well for Dean, he had his baby and he was a real hunter. Now all he needed was Sammy by his side to fill the passenger seat. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry I couldn’t post last week. I promise I’ll get back to normal now. Summer vacation has started so hopefully I’ll have more time to write now. Dean and his baby are now officially in the business. Anyway, tell me what you thought! :)


	25. Twenty-Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam is 15.  
> Dean is 19.  
> Adam is 7.  
> Anna is 11.  
> Jo is 13.

Dean sighed in relief as he finally pulled into the Roadhouse. Adam had been complaining in the backseat for the past hour, and Dean was glad that his little brother could finally get the chance to stretch his legs. Dean didn’t know why, but sometime around when his little brother had turned six, he had stopped looking up to his older brother like he walked on gold and instead started to constantly argue with him. It wasn’t just Dean though; Even their mom had a hard time with the kid sometimes. Dean hoped he hadn’t been that bad as a kid, but most of his memories of that time dealt with missing Sammy and constantly being on the road, so he didn’t really know. Dean still loved the kid though; he just got annoyed at him more easily. Either way, Dean was just relieved that they were visiting Ellen and Jo. For some reason, Adam was always well behaved for them.

Adam was out of the car as soon as Dean had put it into park, and racing towards the Roadhouse with absolutely no regard for the fact that it was probably filled with hardened hunters who weren't known for being the kindest breed. Not that any hunter would ever touch another hunter’s family; still though, it was the thought that counted. Dean followed his brother at what he thought was a much more dignified pace. After all, he was an adult and a hunter now, and had to act mature. Even if he did really miss the woman and girl he thought of as an aunt and cousin. 

When he walked into the bar, Adam was already standing next to Ellen chattering excitedly. He was probably telling her about school. Kid had only just finished second grade but he was already a real whiz. Dean didn’t get it; sure school was good for seeing his friends and picking up girls, but Dean had never gotten excited over the actual learning part. Meanwhile, Adam got excited when he practiced his multiplication tables with their Mom. Personally, Dean was glad he had graduated last year. As he had been planning all along, he started hunting pretty much full time after graduation, though the bunker was still his home. His parents, over protective as they were, still weren’t letting him do solo hunts that were more than a classic salt n’ burn. According to them, he always needed at least one other hunter with him on anything bigger; his usual partners were one of his parents, though he had teamed up with Caleb for a good four months last year. He may have cheated his parents’ rule by taking on a poltergeist or two, but what his parents didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. He was nineteen for God’s sake, an adult, and had been hunting for over three years. You’d think his parents would have eased up by now. As much as he wanted to though, he couldn’t really blame his parents; they didn’t want to lose another child to the life. They couldn’t stop Dean from hunting, but they could make sure he went in prepared.

Dean gave a wave to Ellen as he went to sit at the bar. He knew she wouldn’t serve him; something about he may be a hunter but he still wasn't legal, but he still wanted to catch up. By this time, Adam had finished whatever conversation he was having with Ellen, and went to find Jo, who had conveniently just entered the bar from the back room. She was chattering animatedly with a shorter redheaded girl. At first Dean assumed it was a friend from school or something, but after a moment he could have sworn he knew her. It didn't take much longer for the realization to hit. It was Sam’s little sister; he was pretty sure that her name started with an A. If she was here, that probably meant that her older brother was too. God, Dean hadn’t thought about the kid for almost a year. Not that he would be a kid anymore; Sam was probably in his mid teens by now. 

When he had first started hunting, Dean had thought about hunting with the kid who he had so amazingly got along with for a few days when he had barely hit puberty, but as the years passed the thought had crept up less and less. He figured that if he hadn't seen the other boy in all that time, he probably wouldn’t see him again. Besides Dean was pretty sure that their parents didn't really like each other all too much if his dad’s reaction to when ever Michael Dangé was brought up was anything to go by. Honestly, Dangé was brought up in hunter conversations to talk about how he was a loner or to mention that he was the best in the business. Dean was pretty sure his dad was a bit jealous of that since it seemed like Dangé and the Winchesters were in competition for said spot of best in the business.

It only took Dean about a minute to find the boy. He was sitting at a table towards the back of the bar, surrounded by what looked like research for a hunt if the decades old tomes piled next to him were anything to go by. Dean immediately wanted to go over and see if Sam still remembered him, but Ellen had finally noticed that he was sitting at the bar, so Dean was drawn into conversation with her. 

“Dean! How are you, boy?” Ellen greeted him with a smile and a hug. No matter how old he got, Ellen still saw the little boy who came into the Roadhouse and immediately started acting like an older brother to Jo.

“I’m fine, Ellen. Mom and dad found a hunt in Washington and I don’t have anything right now, so I’m looking after Adam. I thought we’d come visit instead of going back to the bunker.” Ellen melted under what Dean thought was his most innocent smile.

“And I’m glad you did, honey. You’re not the only ones visiting. I’m watching the Dangé kids as well. Do you remember them? I think you met a few years ago.” Dean nodded.

“Yeah of course. Sam and Anna, right? I’ll just go say hi.” Dean gestured towards Sam’s corner.

“You do that. Maybe you can help him with whatever he’s researching. Won’t tell Jo a peep about it. He says she’s too young yet. Boy’s a hunting genius though.” Dean turned to go. “Oh, and Dean?” Dean turned around to look at her. “I talked to your mama this morning. Absolutely no hunting while you're here. You're on break. She told me your last hunt was pretty rough.” Dean sighed. His mom and Ellen knew him to well. He had wanted to leave Adam there and see if he good find a good hunt; and his ribs weren’t hurting too much from his last salt n’ burn. They weren’t even broken; they were just a bit bruised.

Dean approached Sam’s table casually. He didn’t want to appear too eager to see the boy again. It had been years; Sam might not even remember him. Nope. He would play it cool and act like he hadn’t been thinking about seeing him on and off again for the past six years or so.

“Sam. Hey Sam!” Dean called out to the kid as he reached his table. It took awhile to get Sam’s attention. He seemed to be really into whatever he was researching. Dean could literally see Sam’s eyes widening as they made eye contact. Apparently, Sam had not forgotten who he was. 

“Hey. You’re Dean Winchester right? We met a few years ago. How are you? Have your parents finally started letting you hunt yet? Are you hunting alone? My dad’s let me do a few solo hunts but they’re all pretty easy and I can’t really drive on my own in most places yet so he usually comes with me.” Sam suddenly blushed as he realized how much he was rambling on. Dean was pretty sure Sam hadn’t taken a breath the whole time.

“Yeah. It’s good to see you again Sam. I’m doing really well. Yeah my parents finally let me start hunting a few years ago, but I haven’t done anything too interesting. The only solo hunts I’m allowed on are salt n’ burns.” If Dean wasn’t a fully grown man, the face he made at that statement could have been described as a pout. “So what are you working on?”

“Oh I’m just helping Bobby with a translation. This,” Sam pointed to a heavy and very old book in front of him, “is some kind of demonic hand guide written in what looks like a mix of cuneiform, ancient greek, and ancient hebrew, but it’s kind of hard to tell cause it all seems to be in a really weird dialect.” Dean just stared at him.

“And you’re helping him with that? Shouldn’t he be calling a college professor or something?” Sam started to blush again.

“My dad’s just really good at languages,” he mumbled, “and, well, he taught a lot of them to me and I’m just kinda good at them.” Sam ended with a wry smile. Dean took the smile as an invitation and sat down across from him.

“Jesus, kid. You’re like a genius or something. No wonder they think you're like a hunting prodigy.” Sam was still blushing like crazy at the praise, but he threw it right back at Dean.

“Hey I’ve heard the same thing about you. The great Dean Winchester; continuing the Winchester legacy.” Sam said the last part with enough sarcasm that the air quotes he used were hardly necessary. Dean took it in stride though and gave at mocking bow. In return, Sam threw a pen cap at him.

“So Sam, anything I can do to help? Greek and cuneiform are beyond me but I do know a bit of hebrew.”

“Sure grab a notebook and a pen, and we’ll see what you can do.” The two boys actually managed to get some work done for about half an hour before they devolved into catching up and joking around. From what Dean did gather of the book though, it was some pretty gruesome stuff and Dean could see why Sam wouldn’t let Jo or his little sister near it. All in all, Dean and Sam stayed sequestered in their corner of the bar until it got late and the bar got busy, when Ellen came over to bully them into helping serve.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m alive! I’m so sorry I haven’t updated in like forever. Real life caught up to me since this summer my family’s moving like 7 hours south (yay warm!), but I’m going like 10 hours north for college (not so warm) and the last month or so had been crazy. Also I am now aware that square graduation caps are a stupid design and do not remain on the heard without the copies use of bobby pins. Anyway, remember my sweat shirt stealing sister Leo,, who would occasionally write these little note things for me? Well in addition to being a talented cute little note writer, she’s also a pretty good artist; so she did a really cute drawing for this fic of Sam with the rabbit in chapter 5. You can find it on her tumblr: 100gallifreyan-demigod under the tag GenesisSPNfanart. (also here's the URL because I've been having problems with it lately: http://100gallifreyan-demigod.tumblr.com/post/122800603056/100gallifreyan-demigod-i-drew-this-cute-little) So go check it out!


	26. Twenty-Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam is 15.  
> Dean is 19.  
> Adam is 7.  
> Anna is 11.  
> Jo is 13.

Sam sighed as he served yet another table. He liked helping Ellen out at the Roadhouse, but it could get really boring. Usually there would be a few hunters who knew him or at least knew his dad, so they would include him in conversations and such, but tonight, though busy, there was absolutely no one he knew. And most hunters didn’t really care to listen to a kid they thought was rookie to the business even if he was the son of the famous Michael Dangé. All in all it was a pretty boring night for him. He almost wished he was in the back with Anna and Jo, but last time he had been there they were watching a show about wedding dresses and that didn't seem too amusing either. 

Lately, it seemed to Sam as if both girls had grown up seemingly out of no where. Though they would still eagerly discuss hunting and weapons, Jo more so than Anna, they could also be found discussing shoes and, though Sam tried not to think of it, boys. His sister was only eleven for God’s sake. He was pretty sure she was to young to be thinking of that. Sam conveniently failed to remember that he had only been a year or two older when he had had his first kiss.Basically, Sam just wished there was something to do at the Roadhouse. He’d been there with Anna for almost two weeks already. Usually during the summer their dad would take them on hunts and such. Michael had started partially training Anna to hunt, but she didn’t seem to show a huge interest in it, so their dad didn’t force it. Both Sam and Michael wanted her to be able to protect herself, but they wouldn’t make he hunt if she didn’t want to.

Now though, their dad had apparently gotten a hint about the demons that had come after Sam as a baby so he dropped the two at the roadhouse while he went to follow the lead. Sam loved his dad, but he was a bit bitter about this. His dad never seemed to tell him anything. He got the bare minimum of information needed and that was that. He was fifteen and had been hunting for years. Sam thought he deserved a little information. He hardly knew anything about the demons that were after him, and he knew only a little bit more about Heaven. His dad wouldn’t even tell him about his mom. Sam was starting to think there was more to that story than Michael let on. If it was just some random human civilian like he’d led Sam to believe why would he refuse to talk about her at all? Sam knew his dad was going to actually have to explain this stuff to him soon. He wasn’t a child anymore; and he would need to know as he got older. 

Originally, Sam had petitioned to stay with their Uncle Gabe, if he wasn’t allowed to go on the hunt with his dad. He may have been a bit crazy, but he always gave the two siblings as fun time. Apparently that was out too. Sam secretly thought that though his dad loved Gabriel, he wasn’t quite ready to trust him with actually taking care of an eleven year old girl for more than a day or two. Granted, Sam could see his point. Apparently, Gabe’s idea for a healthy meal included apple pie as an acceptable portion of fruits and vegetables. Not that Sam didn’t love Ellen and Jo, but there was still a huge part of himself that he couldn’t share with them. With Gabriel, he could talk about the whole half-angel business. Hell, most of the time Gabe would tell him stories about heaven before, as quoted by his uncle, “everything went to shit.” He would even show Sam some cool new uses for his grace; and ever since his flight feathers had grown in last year, Gabe would take him flying. Sam loved flying, and whenever he could find a place well hidden enough to do so, he’d practice. He’d gotten quite good with the months of practice, even if he was still bit shaky on the landing. He couldn’t fly instantaneously from place to place around the world like his dad and uncle; apparently that was more like a manipulation of time and space rather than actual flying, but he loved the feel of the air in his wings and he was starting to reach some pretty sick speeds.

Either way, Sam had ended up at the Roadhouse and it was shaping up to be a pretty boring summer. He couldn’t even go on hunts on his own. Though his dad had let him do a few solo hunts, he usually preferred that Sam had a partner. Besides, as much as he had done in his life Sam was only fifteen, which meant that he didn’t have a drivers license. Not that he didn’t know how to drive and have a fake for emergencies, but Sam didn’t actually have a car either so whether or not he could drive legally was a moot point anyway. Sam was pulled out of his thoughts by Ellen softly patting him on the back and telling him that business had died down enough that she could manage on her own. She sent him up the stairs with an apple to munch on as a late night snack and the order to get to bed as soon as could since apparently he looked dead on his feet. Glancing at his watch on the way up the stairs, Sam was surprised to notice that it was a bit past one in the morning. Shaking his head a bit to wake up so he wouldn’t trip and fall on his face, Sam made his way to the room he was staying in. He’d spent all of last night reading a book on bible history that Gabe had lent him, so he was pretty much running on fumes. It was supposed to a serious scholarly read, but Gabe had given it to him so he could have a laugh about the outrageous things it said about his dad and his uncle. It helped that Gabe had written in sarcastic comments throughout the book. Chuckling slightly to himself about the image of is prank loving uncle being as serious as the book painted him as, Sam fell asleep pretty much as soon as he got in bed.

The next morning Sam slept as late as possible. He may not as need as much sleep as a normal human to function, but like most teenagers he could sleep till three if given the chance. Sadly though, that was not the case as he was woken by an energetic little sister around ten, asking if he could pretty please show her and Jo the new hand hold that he’d learned from a hunter passing though a few days previously. Sam had no idea why Anna had set her mind upon learning the hold at that very moment, but when Anna set her mind to something, she made it happen. That meant that there was absolutely no chance of Sam actually getting anymore sleep until he showed the two girls.

An hour later, Sam was finally sitting down to a late breakfast while the girls practiced in the back. He was just getting up to go finish a book he had been working on, when he heard a car pull up to the Roadhouse. Ellen didn’t usually get a lot of patrons during the day, as the majority of hunters stayed at a motel in town before showing up for the evening. Visitors during the day were unusual enough that it had Sam picking up his apple and going to see who it was. 

“Hey Sam!”

“Bobby!” Sam hadn’t seen his Uncle Bobby in a few months, and though he didn’t know why he was at the Roadhouse, he was excited to see him. Bobby didn’t often come to the roadhouse, though he and Ellen were good friends. The last time he had seen Bobby at the Roadhouse was about a year ago when Bill had died. 

“What are you doing here? I thought you were researching some Demon thing?” By this point Ellen had joined him and Bobby took the time to greet her before he answered.

“Yeah, I got a few new books in that I’m studying and looking at for a few guys. I heard you were here thought I’d come say hi since I haven’t seen you in a while. Besides one of these new books I found is in a whole slew of old languages. Now my Hebrews pretty good and my Sumerian can pass if need be, but honestly most of this looks beyond me. I was gonna bring it to an expert but then I remembered your daddy telling me about how good you’ve been doing with languages and thought I’d see if you wanted a go. If it’s too much you can give it to your daddy when he gets back from whatever hunt he’s on.” 

“Really? Cool! Yeah, of course I’ll look at it!” Both Ellen and Bobby smiled at the teen’s excitement. They both knew that Sam was smart, and that one of the sure fire ways to get him excited was to offer him some thing new to learn. The boy soaked up knowledge like a sponge. Bobby stayed and visited with everyone for a few hours, but he eventually made his way back onto the road; apparently he was meeting up with a hunter the next day who needed a little help with an incident about a witch. As it was it didn’t take long after he left for Sam to start looking into the books he’d left. By late afternoon he was buried knee deep in papers and translations and was pretty much dead to the world around him.

It wasn’t until Sam heard someone calling his name that he reemerged into reality. He looked up from his work to find Dean Winchester, of all people, trying to get his attention. He eyes widened at the sight of the teen, wondering if he had finally fallen asleep over his work like he was occasionally wont to do. He hadn’t seen Dean in years, and he was honestly a tad surprised the older boy remembered him. After all, he’d been a little kid the last time they’d met, and though they’d had fun, Dean surely had better things to do with his life than remember a kid he’d only met once.

“Hey. You’re Dean Winchester right? We met a few years ago. How are you? Have your parents finally started letting you hunt yet? Are you hunting alone? My dad’s let me do a few solo hunts but they’re all pretty easy and I can’t really drive on my own in most places yet so he usually comes with me.” Sam blushed after he realized how much he’d said. He didn’t want to seem too eager to talk to the boy whom he had so much admired in his youth. The other boy probably thought him an idiot or something. Sam’s embarrassment continued throughout the majority of the conversation. Especially after explaining how good he was with languages; he was pretty self conscience about how smart he was. That probably had something to do with being bullied for being a grade above and such, but Sam didn’t like to psychoanalyze himself too much.

Before he knew it, he and Dean were working together on the translation. It seemed like they still clicked even after all these years. They didn’t actually get very far on their work for Bobby, but they were able to catch up with what had been happing in their lives over the past few years. Sam was amused by Dean’s many stories about the girls he’d gone out with, while Dean was in stitches over Anna and Gabe’s antics. He’d kept all the angel stuff out of it obviously. He spun it as an obscure uncle from his dad’s side who had wanted to visit the States. Overall, Sam had a great night, even if Ellen had made them help out at the bar. He was sure that the rest of his stay at the Roadhouse wouldn’t be quite so boring. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys! I’m so sorry for not updating in forever. This summer had been crazy. The good news is that this story will be finished and not abandoned (seriously I have a plot-map-thingy all drawn out.) The bad news is that my updating will continue to be sporadic for the next little while since I’m starting university tomorrow and I probably won’t be able to write consistently until I figure out my routine. So anyway, like always, tell me what you thought! :)


	27. Twenty-Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam is 15.  
> Dean is 19.  
> Adam is 7.  
> Anna is 11.  
> Jo is 13.  
> Also there’s some swearing in this chapter, just thought I’d give you a heads up.

“I’m bored.” Dean accompanied his declaration by flopping heavily onto Ellen’s couch, managing to trap Sam and the book he was reading on the overstuffed thing in the process. 

“Yeah? Well good for you. Now get off.” Sam unceremoniously shoved at Dean till he fell to the floor. They had been struck by a heatwave the past few days and the heat was getting on everybody’s nerves. Not to mention that they had finished with Bobby’s text two days ago, so there was nothing for the two teenagers to do except train, but it was most definitely too hot for that. 

“Sam,” Dean continued to whine, “Let’s do something.” Sam rolled his eyes at where Dean was now speed out like an eagle on the floor.

“We’re pretty much in the middle of nowhere right now and I don’t know if you noticed but you’re going to melt into a puddle if you step outside right now.”

“But there’s nothing to do here. I wish I had a case.” Sam hummed noncommittally and went back to his book. “Sam!” Dean suddenly sat up with an unexpected energy, “Let’s go on a case. You’ve done cases alone before and so have I so we can do it. We can find a place out of this damn heat wave and then we can save some people.”

“I don’t know. I mean both of our parents and Ellen were all pretty clear about staying here and not getting into trouble. Sneaking out for a hunt of our own, even if it’s only a salt n’ burn, still sounds pretty troublesome.” Sam’s tone was weary as he eyed Dean with quite a healthy dose of skepticism. 

“Come on Sam. We’d be saving lives. That’s important! Plus I’m sure we’d make a great team.” Dean could see that he almost had the kid persuaded. “It’ll be fine. It’s not like we’d be hunting alone and it’ll be good for us to learn to work with people other than our parents.”

“Fine,” Sam huffed out, “But when everyone finds out and we get in a shitload of trouble, I’m blaming you.” Sam knew it was a bad idea, but he was really bored and he liked Dean.

“Great! So how do we find a hunt?” Sam gave the young hunter a sly smile.

“Easy, Ellen has a box of hunts that she keeps under the bar. Hunters are always bringing the hunts that they can’t do or are too far away from and she passes them on to other hunters. All we have to do is find a file with a hunt that’s not too far from here and we’re on our way.”

Five minutes later both boys were looking through case files behind the bar. They were being sneaky about it even though there was no need; Anna and Jo were off in Jo’s room doing girl things and Adam had gone with Ellen into town to buy groceries. She wasn’t due back for a few hours so hopefully they’d be able to get at least an hour’s head start before Ellen found them gone and called their parents. Both boys knew they would be in a ton of trouble when they got back, but it was worth it to go on a hunt.

“Here! Sam look at this one. It’s only about a 6 hours drive away. If we leave now we’ll be able to get there late tonight and start hunting tomorrow. Plus it’s out of this god damn heat wave.” Dean handed the folder he’d been looking at to Dean. The teen was almost vibrating with energy as he watched the kid read the file. “It’s great, yeah? C’mon! Let’s get our stuff and go!”

“I don’t know Dean. This doesn’t look like a normal salt n’ burn. Something seems weird about it.” Sam was obviously more hesitant about the whole plan than Dean was.

“Don’t be a spoilsport, Sam. You're kind of a genus, right? Skipped a grade and all that? You can look over the file in the car. I have some hunting texts in there. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Dean was almost pleading at this point.

“Yeah, but,” Sam didn’t get any further with his protests before Dean interrupted him.

“C’mon it’ll be fine. It’s not like we’re alone. We have each other for back up. We’ll go, solve the case, and after I’ll buy you you first beer.” Dean flashed Sam a toothy smile and could see it in Sam’s body language when he gave in.

“Fine, but if I die I’m haunting you for the rest of your life.” Turning Sam started to head upstairs to get his bag. “Oh, and you’re too late on the whole beer thing. My uncle gave me one for my birthday this spring.” Dean just grunted in reply to Sam’s cheeky grin before going and getting his his stuff.

Fifteen minutes later the boys were in the impala heading towards their first hunt as a team. Sam was going over the file in the passenger seat, while Dean was playing Led Zeppelin at maximum volume. Sam was pretty good at drowning out background noise when he was thinking, after all he had Gabriel for an uncle, but for some reason Dean seemed to be especially annoying. It was Dean’s car though, and Sam was probably just tired. Thankfully, it didn’t get to the point where he started complaining as it was barely an hour later when Dean lowered the volume. 

“So kid, what have you got?” Dean was trying to play it cool, but Sam could tell that he was basically vibrating with excitement for the hunt. They had both been idle for too long.

“I’m not a kid, Dean.” Sam played along with the other boy’s teasing and scowled in his direction, “I’ve been hunting longer than you.”

“What ever,” Dean brushed off the slight dig with all the superiority his extra four years on Sam gave him, “just tell me about the hunt.”

“Fine,” Sam was smiling to himself as he gave Dean the details of the hunt. He loved his sister but this easy banter he had with Dean would never fly with her, and he liked this banter; it was fun. “So whoever dropped this case off at the Roadhouse had it marked as a salt and burn, but I’m not so sure. There have been three deaths so far each about a month apart. According to this, apparently the victims were all married men in their mid twenties to early thirties. Whoever made this had Alexandra Martz listed as the likely ghost. She was killed about two months before the killings started, in an accident that punctured her abdomen, but apparently her husband isn’t mourning that much.”

“Great. It’s probably the chick looking for revenge.” Dean had been on what felt like hundreds of cases where a spirit kept killing to get some twisted form of revenge on a cheating spouse. 

“I don’t know. The thing is that their stomachs and some of the internal organs were gone instead of just pierced like Alexandra.”

“So what it’s some kind of creature rather than a ghost?” Sam nodded in response.

“That’s what I’m thinking. At first I thought werewolf that had just gotten messy taking the heart, but the lunar cycles are off. I just don’t know what it could be, man. There’s too much left behind for a rougaroo and they leave a lot of blood behind so it’s definitely not a vamp.”

“Great I haven’t been on a real monster hunt in ages.” Dean seemed a bit too excited about it to Sam.

“Seriously Dean? We have no idea what we’re facing and you’re excited?” Sam was pretty close to rolling his eyes at this point.

“Yeah, it’s not just another salt n’ burn. We’ll do fine. We’ll interview the witnesses, get some more details, and then well kill this son of a bitch.”

“Speaking of witnesses, what’s our story for that? You can say you’re an adult all you want, but I’m only fifteen and neither of us will pass for FBI agents or anyone else of authority for that matter.”

“We, my young friend, are student reporters from West Dakota Tech, and we are taking an interest in the news from the small towns in our wonderful state. You’re tall enough that you can pass for an awkward college freshman.”

“Thanks for that.” Sam actually did roll his eyes at this point.

“No problem, kid.” Dean just flashed Sam a cheeky grin and turned the music back up, while Sam huffed and turned towards the window doing his best to ignore his annoying friend.

They got to the motel earlier than expected, which probably had something to do with Dean’s complete and utter disregard for the speed limit. That being said, Sam was happy that it was early enough that the diner across the street was still open. He’d eat at the open 24 hours chains if he had to, but ingesting that much grease always made him feel slightly sick to his stomach. After throwing their bags in room eight, which had little more than two beds, a shaky table, and a television that may or may not have worked, the two boys headed out to the diner. Both were pretty much starving after hours in the car; after all, Sam was in the middle of yet another growth spurt and Dean was just always hungry. All in all, Sam was able to find a pretty good chef’s salad with grilled chicken and Dean had the best burger that he’d had in while. Once they got back to the motel, they both collapsed on their respected beds, tired from a day full of driving.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m alive! I know I haven’t updated in pretty much forever and I am so sorry. I got kind of caught up in college life and before I knew it I was starting my second semester. I promise that this story is getting finished though updates will not be nearly as frequently as they used to be (though hopefully I can avoid leaving you guys hanging for almost six months). I’m hoping I can update at least once a month, but I have a lot less time to write than I used to so bear with me. That being said, I hope you liked the chapter and Sam and Dean going on a hunt together! Comments make my day and will take my mind off those midterms that I should be studying for! :)


	28. Twenty-Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam is 15.  
> Dean is 19.

The next morning started out with the boys going to interview Alexandra Martz’ husband. Sam was pretty sure by this point it was some kind of creature, but it didn’t hurt to be thorough and check all the leads they had. As Sam had said, the man didn’t seem too disappointed in his wife’s death. Dean wanted to take point on the interview seeing that he was the oldest. Sam threw the older boy a bitch face but other than that he let him go without too much grumbling. 

“Mr. Martz, do you mind telling us what happened the night your wife died?” Sam nudged Dean for sounding inconsiderate, but the man didn’t seem to care. If anything he looked pleased by the attention and the idea of getting his fifteen minutes of fame in a college newspaper.

“It was just a normal day, you know? I got home from work, got myself a beer, and watched the game. After a bit I went to see what was taking Ally so long with dinner. She said something about having something important to tell me but I told her it could wait. I’d had long day and I was hungry, but whatever. Anyway, she tripped over some towel or something in the kitchen while cutting the vegetables, and next thing I know she’s on the floor with the knife in her stomach. I called the ambulance, but there was nothing they could do.” It wasn’t until the very end of the story that the man seemed affected by his wife’s death. He was good at acting sad, but both boys could see that he didn’t really care. 

Dean could see why the other hunter had labeled this a salt n’ burn. If Dean was right in his suspicions and Alex’s accident wasn’t really an accident, it was the perfect motivation for a vengeful spirit. The problem was that apparently the other victims were ripped open. It also didn’t really make sense why Alex’s husband was still alive if she had gone vengeful. Either way, there wasn’t anything else that the two young hunters could learn from, Mr. Martz.

“So where to next, whiz kid?” The boys were quiet until they got back to the car, but now that they were in the impala, Dean was eager to continue with the case. 

“Whiz kid? Really Dean? At least try to be original.” Dean was focusing on the road, but he could feel Sam rolling his eyes. He just gave Sam a light shove in response. “Whatever, anyway, we should interview the other victims’ families. First up is Lydia Renolyds; her husband Mathew died a few weeks after Alexandra. The file lists him as the first victim. The address is,” Sam paused and Dean could hear him shuffling some papers, “232 Redwood Road.” 

“Great, let’s get this party started.” Dean smiled as he made his way to the Renolyds house.

Lydia Renolyds didn’t have a lot of information for them. Truth be told, the whole interview was a little hectic as Lydia had a set of 2 months old twins to look after. As the boys learned, as soon as one woke up, the other did too. Sam mostly just felt bad for the small family; the two little boys would never meet their father due to some supernatural creature. It just made Sam more eager to figure out the hunt. According to Ms. Renolyds her husband was a great guy. He had no enemies and he was the town’s veterinarian; everyone loved him. She hadn’t even been the one to find him. Apparently he’d been attacked on his way home from work. They asked about Alexandra Martz just to cover all their bases, but they didn’t expect anything. By this point, it was pretty obvious they were looking for a creature and not a spirit. The two women had known each other, apparently they were in the same high school graduation year, but that wasn’t so unusual for a small town. All in all, the trip to the Renolyds house didn’t help with the case.

There were two more victims to look into, but it was getting to be mid afternoon and the boys were hungry. They planned to interview the last two widows the next day and decided to get some food before hitting the local library to start on the research. As it turned out there were actually quite a lot of monsters that ripped people’s stomachs out, but none of them really fit the requirements. Either the monster prayed on men and women, or it ate rather than ripped the stomach, or it was only active in the winter. There just wasn’t a single creature that fit the specific details for this case. Dean did what he could to help Sam with the research, but it was mostly the younger boy’s game. After a few hours they had to stop and turn in, mostly because of Dean’s increasingly shortening attention span. After a quick dinner, both boys immediately dropped off to sleep. As it turned out, taking on a serious hunt by themselves was more tiring than they imagined.

They interviewed the last two victims the next morning. The door to the first house was opened by a young girl around Adam’s age. She led them to see her heavily pregnant mother and then disappeared, probably to do whatever young girls do on a Saturday mornings. Sam took point on the interview. 

“Mrs. Carllini, can you tell us what happened the night of your husband’s death?” The women absently rubbed her stomach as she answered.

“It was normal day I guess. Don had had a hard day at work so he’d went out with the guys for a beer after work.” She gave them a rueful smile. “He got home pretty late, but he’d called ahead to say he’d miss dinner so it was fine. I’d already put Lily to bed, so I was just watching some late night TV while waiting for him.” At this point Mrs. Carllini started to choke up a bit. “I was, um, staring to doze off when I heard a scream from outside. I got up a quickly as I could to go to the window but I couldn't see anything. I was scared to go outside, you know?” I was dark and,” at this point the women really was crying.

“M’am, if it’s too difficult you can stop.” Sam wore his most sympathetic face.

“No, no. People need to know what happened in case it happens to anyone else.” She took a moment to compose herself and then continued talking. “I went to check on Lily first. It was silly, the scream had come from outside, but I had to make sure she was okay. Then I called the cops, and they told me to say stay inside. They were the ones who found Don. It was horrible. They’re saying it was a wild animal. What if it comes back? Lily is so much smaller than Don. I’m scared to even let her out of the house.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll find this thing.” Dean jumped in on the questioning, “Is there anything else you can tell us? Anything strange or seemingly unimportant that happened that night? Any thing will help.”

“Not that I can think of,” Mrs. Carllini paused for a moment, “Well there was one thing. Just before I heard the scream I thought I heard a baby crying. I put it down to being half asleep and thinking about this little one,” She glanced down at her stomach, “But I don’t really imagine things like that, even if I am half asleep so it was a little weird.” 

“Thank you.” Sam gave her a sad smile. “That’s everything we need. Again, we’re very sorry for your loss.”

It took them a little while to track down the last witness. When they got the house it was for lease, but after a little police work by Dean they were able to track down the widow. As it turned out, she was actually staying in the same motel they were. Granted it was the only motel in town, but still she’d been a few doors down the entire time. The women who answered the door was maybe a few years younger than the rest of the witnesses. 

“Mrs. Jones,” Sam started out, “We’re student reporters from the university, and we were wondering if we could interview you about your husband’s death.” Sam made sure to keep an appropriately  sympathetic look on his face as he talked.

“Getcher,” was the short reply. “I go by Getcher now. Mike and I were getting a divorce, but sure you can ask your questions if you want.” As it turned out, Ms. Getcher didn’t have any concrete information for them. She’d already been staying the motel the night her husband died. She’d been half way across town and didn’t hear about his death until the police told her. 

“Ms. Getcher, anything you can tell us would be helpful. Was there anything strange in the weeks leading up to his death?”

“Other than my husband being a cheating bastard instead of just a bastard? Not that I can think of.” Dean raised a questioning eyebrow at her statement. She sighed in response, “Danny and I were pretty young when we married, fresh out of high school actually. He was a passionate guy which I loved at first, but we grew up and I learned that he couldn’t hold his liqueur. I stayed with him,” she scoffed to herself at this point. “I thought I could help him get better or something stupid like that, but well,” she paused again a took a deep breath, “a few weeks ago I found out I was a pregnant. I was willing to deal with Danny, but I wouldn’t, I couldn’t put my child through that. I packed my bags that night and filed for a divorce the next day.”

“I’m sorry.” Sam continued to amaze Dean with how he could always keep a witness talking while at the same time make them feel comfortable.

“Yeah well he wasn't too disappointed I guess. He was with another women before we even had the papers signed. Just his type too.” The women was obviously a bitter about her husband’s actions. “Long dark hair and so pale it looked like she’d never seen the sun. Come to think of it I saw her waiting for him in the lawyer’s parking lot the day he died. Would that help your article?” 

“It could. Thank you for all your help.” Sam shook her hand as he and Dean made there way back to their own room. As soon as they were back Dean turned to Sam. 

“What is it? You realized something while we were talking to her.” Sam was already pulling out articles and books as he replied to Dean.

“Don’t you see? It’s the connection between all the victims. What we were missing. This narrows everything down.”

“Other than the fact that they were all married the only thing that I could tell is they could be dicks at times. It’s not great, but also not that uncommon.” Dean was a bit amazed at the speed Sam was flipping though books. 

“No, no.” Sam was obviously distracted by whatever he was reading. “It’s not the actual victims that are linked. It’s the wives. They were all pregnant. This thing is going after the husbands of pregnant women.” As soon as Sam told him, Dean didn’t know how he hadn't realized it before. It seemed kind of obvious in hindsight.

“Great. So it’s killing soon-to-be-dads. What is it and how do we stop it?” Sam finally looked up from his book.

“I’m not sure. There’s more things that prey on pregnant women than their husbands, but I’m sure I’ve heard of something like this before. I can’t remember exactly what it was though.” Sam abruptly stood up. “We need to go to the library. I don’t think it’s in any of these books, plus we need to locate any more potential vics.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone! I know it’s been the longer side of forever since I posted but I promise this story isn’t abandoned. I can’t give a timeframe for when I update, and honestly it’ll probably a while between chapters. (Time just has this habit of slipping away, you know?) Anyway please leave a comment to let me know that people are still leaving this thing! Sorry again for the long waits!


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